The Best of the Best
by Pyroteknix
Summary: The Bladebreakers are in trouble in their latest tournament, will they get past the overwhelming odds even if those odds include the perfect beyblades and beybladers?And what if Kai finds love on the way? Lemon in the last chappie. (COMPLETED)
1. The Invitation

Beyblades: The Best of the Best  
  
By: Pyroteknix  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Beybladestm  
  
Note by author: If you're interested, I have another fanfic entitled "Counterforce" in the Zoids category.  
  
Prologue:  
  
4 teenagers pounded on the glass barriers of their separate prisons, transparent cylinders with reinforced walls. The young men screamed helplessly, their voices muted by the silenced glass. Surrounding the containers were multiple computers and various machines, all connected to small boxes located on top of the boys' cells. Technicians watched their subjects with skeptical eyes, questioning the fact that this was all for a sport. Adding to their doubt was the theory; the basis for this particular experiment was highly hypothetical and relatively obscure to the science world. Overseeing the entire operation was a silver-haired man, his dull colored hair sweeping on his shoulders. His tense gaze was directed at the helpless kids trapped within the cylinders, but no pity or compassion showed in his firey colored pupils. This was his idea, the perfect team, the ultimate fighters who would dominate their competition. He smiled a bit, imagining the world's expression at these boys who would sweep them off their feet with their skills. A technician disrupted his thoughts and walked up to him, nervously tapping his shoulder. "Sir Arcford, we can begin the procedures now." The trembling employee said to the imposing figure of his employer. Arcford merely nodded his head and with a wave of his hand, signalled the technician to get out of his sight. The building literally came to life as gadgets and gizmos hummed and revved into operation. Arcford's silver hair swayed as he turned his sharply shaped face to stare at the cylinders and their entrapped residents. Lightning leaped from the glass and hit the convulsing teenage boys, shocking every nerve and cell in their bodies like a million knives slicing into them. The shook on the cramped floors of their miniature prisons, shivering uncontrollably as the pulsing bolts slammed into them. Then a gas started to fill the room and the teenagers gagged, clutching their throats before they fell asleep. "Sedative has taken effect, Sir Arcford." Arcford chuckled softly as technicians opened the containers and removed the sleeping boys. The technicians injected a syringe into the scalp of each of the teenage boys, receiving involuntary shudders from their patients. "We have completed the experiment and their vital signs are all right." The silver-haired man known as Arcford grinned maliciously and replied. "Excellent. Training starts tomorrow." He said as he walked away.  
  
5 years later, the last tournament had wrapped up for the Bladebreakers but things weren't easing up for the champion class team. The black-haired Ray, a Chinese by descent, was helping the blonde American Max sift through their daily 2 pounds of challenges. Their leader, Kai, sat on the hotel room's biege couch as he watched his teammates search for any challenge worth accepting on the wooden floor. A great yawn came from within the bedroom, signifying Tyson's waking up. The sleepy-eyed beyblader walked into the spacious room and promptly slipped on a letter. The letter floated off and Kai caught it with one deft motion of his hand as Tyson fell face first into a pile of challenges Max was fixing up. Kai opened the letter, its front decorated with expensive gold engravements while Max and Ray scolded the ignorant bufoon named Tyson. Kai scanned the letter quickly, going over the names of the participating teams, which included famous and powerful groups such as the White Tigers and the All Stars. A few of the teams the Bladebreakers fought with before were not in the list and Kai imagined them chickening out at the sight of the tough opposition. There were a few other teams that he had never heard of before but were apparently good enough to be included in this exclusive looking competition. Kai waved the invitation and signalled the others to check out the letter. The other group members, including Kenny, who just arrived from the early bird special of the beyblade hardware store, circled around their leader to get a closer look at the challenge. Ray whistled in awe at the lineup and Max's jaw dropped when he saw the enclosed picture of the tournament location, a man-made island surrounded by crystal blue waters. Kenny started jabbering about the beyblades they might see and Tyson was talking in a rapid voice about all the exotic foods they would taste. Kai smiled thinly and asked his winning teammates if they were ready for this new challenge. "Are we in?" Kai asked to his excited teammates. Of course, their answer was a loud and collective, yes. Kai shrugged despite the sheer excitement. "Pack your things, we are going to the airport at 7:30 in the morning." Tyson groaned as he heard the early time. The next day. Ray pushed aside the teeming mass of people in the airport as the hordes in the lobby stared at Kai who was carrying a snoring Tyson with the aid of Max. Kenny pushed the cart containing their luggage as they shoved their way through the crowded airport. Ray gave a great sigh of relief as they reached an entourage of people dressed formally with signs bearing their names. The men loaded the Bladebreaker's baggage into the back of a motorized cart, the baggage including Tyson, and politely asked the group of beybladers to sit down on the cart and after the boys complied, they rode through the living sea. Finally, the cart stopped in front of a luxurious jet parked on the tarmac. The Bladebreakers, now with an awakened Tyson, entered the fully furnished airplane with gasps of awe. There was everything inside; it was so complete that it resembled an expensive hotel room. The stunned boys plopped down on the beanbags, except for Tyson and Kai. Kai sat crosslegged and pulled out his beyblade and started tweaking it while Tyson checked out the refrigerator. Tyson rolled backwards as the plane started to move, a soda spilling on his face. The rest of the team laughed aside from Kai, who responded with a shake of his head.  
  
End of chapter  
  
Next chapter: the Bladebreakers meet old friends and new enemies 


	2. Old friends, new enemies

Beyblades: The Best of the Best By: Pyroteknix  
  
The Bladebreakers stepped out into the tropical climate of the man- made island where they would be competing. A lanky man walked up to the amazed team on the tarmac and greeted them. "Hello there, Bladebreakers! Thank you for joining our company's fund-raising tournament! Please step this way." The man guided the international athletes to a shiny silver car and led them through dense jungle to the gigantic tournament complex, a dome shaped arena with huge pillars around the rim. The Bladebreakers chatted about the competition and their future adversaries. Ray, on the other hand, asked a question about the tournament to their driver. "What exactly is the name of the company that is sponsoring this battle?" Ray asked quizzically. The driver shrugged and answered casually. "G.E.N.E. Genetic Engineering for a New Earth. That's the name." Ray mulled over the strange name and suddenly, a thought occurred to him. "Why do they need a fund-raiser when they can afford such high class items?" He shook off the skeptical idea and joined the conversation with his teammates. Tyson promptly fell flat on his butt after he and his teammates got their first view of the interior of the immense dome. Max absentmindedly pulled Tyson off the floor while he gazed at the tremendous indoors. Kai, meanwhile, was just staring and staring with Kenny as Ray's eyes gazed elsewhere. His eyes were fixed on a certain pink haired girl standing beside her teammates, the White Tigers. However, Ray's eyes slitted when he saw another boy stare at her from behind a plant. The boy's gaze met his almost instantly, as if the teenager could read Ray's mind. He disappeared behind a corner and left Ray alone, a little bit frightened by the starnge brown-haired boy. Kenny noticed Ray's apprehension and tapped his shoulder lightly. "I know that person you noticed. That's Matt, he's part of a team called the BladeTech." Kenny said, pointing to poster of the teams participating in the competition and singled out a guy dressed in a white shirt, blue jeans and an opened jacket with firey colors and flame designs on the bottom. He sighed and turned around to look at the pink-haired girl, his old friend Mariah. However, she was no longer there and another team took her group's place. A man wearing a brightly colored jacket and a baseball cap waved to the Bladebreakers. Max responded with another cheery wave and Tyson yelled out to the other team. "Hey Micheal! Get the All Stars ready for defeat!" Tyson shouted, earning a whack from Kai. Tyson rubbed the spot where Kai hit him and stared back at the smug beyblader. "You get ready, Tyson! Were going to win this one!" Micheal's groupmate Steve replied in his deep, booming voice. Kai waved back at the American team and pulled his teammates to the poster of the competing teams. "We already know the White Tigers and the All Stars. Forget about them and concentrate on the other teams." Ki said in his gruff tone and glared at Ray. "Especially the White Tigers." He added and smiled smugly as Ray balled his hands into tight fists. Max sighed and began to talk about the other teams. "I know one of them, the Dark Eden. Those guys control some pretty nasty bitbeasts and beyblades. Their boss is a guy called Marvin and he rocks beyblade with his Black Velociraptor, Tiblaid. " He said, shaking his head as he remembered the video he watched about them. Kenny butted in and pointed to another team. "These beybladers, Blue Passion, are an all female team and prefer aquatic beyblades and bitbeasts. Their leader is Dominique and she commands the Sea Serpent bitbeast, Levian." Tyson nudged Kenny in the ribs. "Oooh, Kenny likes researching female beybladers." He teased, which earned him two punches from Kai and furious blushing from Kenny. Ray was about to ask about BladeTech, but was interrupted by Kai. "Focus on the teams that are currently in our round robin group." Kai said, referring to the system by which the teams will fight. "Dark Eden and BladeTech are not in our group. Blue Passion, Flying High and Riders are in our group." The Bladebreaker leader announced officially. "Flying High are beybladers who rely on speed to get the job done. They're most famous for their leader, Ian, who owns the Blue Eagle bitbeast, Desrazor." Max cleaned his ear when he heard those names. "Desrazor? Ian? That guy's blade is so fast that it creates sonic booms!" He exclaimed in protest to the tough competition. Tyson whacked his head for not reading those beyblading magazines his grandfather bought him. "Riders is led by Benjamin, master of the White Stallion bitbeast, Fenfield. His team specializes in control and defense beyblades and wait for you to go down." Kai finished and Ray shook his head in sheer disbelief at the amazing teams they had to fight. Kenny finished typing in all the information Kai stated and looked up at the team. "Okay guys! Let's find the training room and get ready! Our first match tomorrow is against the Blue Passion." Dizzi said as Kenny opened his mouth to say the exact same thing. But this time, Kai finished their announcement. "Do what you want until then, but you have to be ready by tomorrow morning." The Bladebreakers nodded and ran off. Ray ran down one of the many halls in the expansive building, searching for Mariah. He looked around, hoping to catch one more glimpse of her. "Ray?" Ray whirled around, surprised by the sudden sound. Both he relaxed as he stared into the eyes of the one he should never have left behind. "Mariah, it's been a long while. How have you." Ray was cut short as the pink-haired girl hugged him tightly, so tightly that Ray could feel her heart pounding in her chest. He blushed a bit, praying that Kai wouldn't notice them. But at the same time he felt happy and contented, glad to be with Mariah again. "I missed you." Mariah said softly as she buried her head in his black hair. "Me too, Mariah." He told her, whispering in her ear. He held her close to him, as though the winds would bring them apart again. But a person watched them, his eyes filled with jealousy and his hands slowly turning into fists. He left the couple without attracting their attention, moving more stealthily than a fox. It wouldn't have mattered anyway as the 2 were oblivious to their surroundings. Tyson and Max dueled with their beyblades in one of the underground training facilities, Tyson obviously winning over the American, while Kenny watched. Max wiped the sweat off his forehead and picked up his smoking Draciel as Tyson did a victory dance on the other side of the metal dish. He looked up and stood there, transfixed by the vision of a beautiful girl walking past them and to the dish a few meters away. Tyson and Kenny followed his stare and were also hypnotized by the female beyblader, who was preparing her beyblade. Then another girl walked in, wearing a light blue T-shirt and dark blue pants. She walked up to the first girl and pulled out her own beyblade, a distinctly colored beyblade with black stripes covering the length of the dark blue top. The first beyblader removed her aquamarine jacket and revealed an ocean blue shirt that flaunted her midriff. Kenny broke the silence between the Bladebreakers with a dazed voice. "Those are the Blue Passion beybladers, the first one was Dominique and the second was Erika, who controls Leviofin, a Dolphin bitbeast." He said, his eyes still glued to the attractive figures that were preparing for a battle. Dominique nodded and launched her beyblade, a light blue beyblade with white highlights. Erika launched her own and sent the beyblade streaming for her teammate's. The two blades collided and landed a few centimeters away from each other, as if they were sizing up the situation. Suddenly, Erika's blade rushed at Dominique's and sparks flew as she released Leviofin while Levian, Dominique's bitbeast, held steadfast. "Dolphin Cyclone!!!" Erika yelled, and her beyblade responded by spinning around Dominique's blade like a deadly chainsaw. It whittled down the stamina of Dominique's Levian as it spun around its rival like a gear grinding another gear. The battle seemed to be going in Erika's favor until Dominique retaliated at full force. "Levian! Serpent Wave!!!" She ordered and her beyblade complied by tilting so that the edge of it was under Erika's beyblade. The amazing power of Levian tilted the beyblade again and flipped the powerless Leviofin unto its protruding edge so that the weight disk of Leviofin was balanced on the attack ring of Levian. Erika tightened her fists as she watched her beyblade balance precariously on the edge of the spinning Levian, which was slowly destroying her beyblade by attacking the weight disk. Finally, Dominque's blade dropped the stilled Leviofin and leaped into Dominique's open hand. Erika smiled at her team captain and pointed to the gaping Bladebreakers. The two giggled at the blushing trio of beybladers and walked out of the training room. "Wow." Max said, blinking his eyes. "Which? The battle or the girls?" Tyson aked in the same dazed voice as Kenny. "Both."  
  
End of Chapter  
  
Next Chapter: The Blue Passion battles! The queens of the water versus the Bladebreakers! 


	3. The first round

Beyblades: The Best of the Best  
  
By: Pyroteknix  
  
"That Levian bitbeast is really cool! It balanced another beyblade on its attack ring!" Tyson said excitedly, recounting the Blue Passion's battle to his teammates. "Leviofin has this attack where it immobilizes you by spinning extremely close to your blade, grinding your stamina down until you lose." Kenny added, making expressive movements with his hands to emphasize the attack. Max just sat there, mouth open as he still was under the hypnotic beauty of their rivals. Kenny shook Max roughly and jolted him back to the real world. "There wasn't any picture of the Blue Passion players in the poster, tell us how they looked like." Kai said, leaning against the wall of their suite inside the tournament dome. This time, Tyson and Max started drooling and Kenny began to blush a shade of pink. Kenny kept on making weird sounds as he tried to form a description for his team leader and Ray. Kai raised his eyebrow and looked at Ray who looked puzzled by their teammates reaction. "What's that supposed to mean?" Ray whispered to Kai as Tyson started talking dazedly. "You should know. That's how you look when you're with Mariah." He shot back, scaring Ray for a while. "Good thing you're not seeing her anymore." He continued in a more relaxed tone, assuring Ray that Kai didn't see his and Mariah's hug. Kai shook his head and gave each of the drooling idiots a whack on the head. "Apparently, they're extremely pretty." Kai said while Tyson, Max and Kenny rubbed their heads. Max nodded quickly with a big smile on his face. "This is not good. Our teammates are going to get distracted during the match." He thought, with an obvious look of worry. Tyson slapped Kai's back cheerfully. "Hey, man! We'll win this without breaking a sweat!" Tyson said as their sour leader pushed away his hand. "Why don't you 3 go swimming in the indoor pool? Might help you relax for tomorrow morning." Ray suggested and in seconds, the 3 Bladebreakers were out the door and running down the hall. "I'll go too. I need to calm my nerves." Ray said to Kai, who nodded his head and plopped down on the couch for some sleep. "Don't sleep too late, we need our energy." He mumbled as Ray exited their room. Ray was skipping with joy as he left Kai behind, as he could visit Mariah again. "I'll be there Mariah, just wait!" He thought happily and ran off to meet the one he loved. "Cannonball!!!" Max yelled as he dived into the pool, shortly followed by Tyson and Kenny, who left a pouting Dizzi on the poolside tables. "Why aren't laptops waterproof?" The bitbeast complained as Kenny was pulled under by his teammates. Then Dizzi's crystal clear display caught 4 other beybladers heading towards the pool, shortly followed by another team. "Guys! Blue Passion and Flying High at 6:00!!!" Dizzi shouted and the 3 boys turned their heads and locked gazes with the all- female team of Blue Passion. This time, they desperately tried not to look stupid and broke their staring. Instead, they watched the predominantly male team of Flying High and noticed that they were also glued to Blue Passion. Their only female member, Raisa, gave two of her teammates, Enzo and Nico, a whack on their heads since Ian, who was their leader, was far more interested in the hotdog bar beside the pool. The 3 Flying High beybladers leaped into the heated water as their lanky captain checked out the food. The Bladebreakers eyes once again travelled to the Blue Passion, who were removing their towels to show of two-piece bathing suits and most of their skin. Kenny pulled the faint Max out of a drop as they stared at the 4 female beybladers. Tyson was mouthing words, as he was far too stunned to speak. "Trina, Anna, those were the beybladers we saw a while ago." Dominique said, pointing at the gaping Bladebreakers. The 2 other Blue Passion members laughed and dived in the pool as gracefully as their bitbeasts. Their teammates jumped in as well and swam towards the stunned Bladebreakers. "You're Tyson, right?" Erika said, looking at the blushing Tyson with puzzlement. He nodded nervously as she touched his cheek. "My! You're pretty hot! Are you sick?" She asked honestly, receiving even more furious blushing from Tyson. "And you must be Max, the son of Director Judy of the All Starz." Anna said, scanning Max's wet face. Max dived down to avoid more nervousness and left Kenny and Tyson up with the Blue Passion. Dominique swam up to Kenny and saw the laptop resting on a table by the poolside. "You must be Kenny, the laptop guy I saw on TV!" She said, poking his nose. "I believe you met me and Erika." She continued, her eyes shifting gaze to the resurfaced Max, who wass gasping for breath. Max's gaze turned to the envious looking Flying High beybladers, who got a whack from their female teammate. "My team, Blue Passion includes Trina, my little sister who controls a Squid bitbeast called Leviten," She motioned towards the smallest Blue Passion beyblader. "Anna, who is the master of Levijas, a Shark bitbeast. I believe we have a match tomorrow, so, goodbye!" The leader of Blue Passion said heartily and swam off, but stopped halfway to the other side of the spacious pool. "Oh, and, it was nice meeting you guys!" She shouted back at the blushing trio. "Can I say "Wow!" again?" Max asked at the dizzy Tyson. The next day. "Welcome to the G.E.N.E competition! Iam Brad Best!" "And this is AJ Topper!" "Bringing you a live commentary since there were no other tournaments!" A speaker blared overhead as the Bladebreakers prepared for their battle with the Blue Passion. Kai tinkered with his Dranzer blade, slightly modifying its speed and agility. Meanwhile, Tyson was talking with Kenny about strategies they might have to use to win. Ray stared into the crowds, wondering when the audience arrived. Max nudged him gently and whispered in his ear. "Is Mariah there?" He asked teasingly. Ray shot him a venomous glance and sat down on the team bench to work on his blade. "I wonder if she is there?" He thought, but shrugged off the feeling and concentrated on the battle ahead. The speaker magnified the hidden commentators' voices as they introduced the competing beybladers. "We have a show for you today, folks! The world-class Bladebreakers, led by the powerful Kai, and the Blue Passion, led by the beautiful Dominique!" The duo announced to the crowd, who responded with shouts and whoops of delight. "You weren't exaggerating yesterday, she really is hot!" Ray said to Tyson, who hit him lightly. "Mariah will be jealous, Ray." He joked and ducked a punch delivered by Ray. "What's up with them and Mariah today?" He wondered and looked at their adversaries. "This competition will be a best of 4 match for more excitement. In case of a tie, there will be a tiebreaker round!" The crowd screamed in the sheer excitement of the sport. Max wiped the sweat from his forehead, as the match was about to begin. He uttered a quick prayer and readied his beyblade that housed the amazing power of Draciel. He looked at his teammates, each holding their own blades, which contained other bitbeasts such as Dragoon, Dranzer and Driger. "The first match will be. Ray of the Bladebreakers versus Trina of the Blue Passion!" AJ Topper shouted for the entire crowd to hear. "Ray's Bitbeast is the ever powerful Driger who will slug it out with the mighty Squid of Trina, Leviten!" Brad announced, receiving a loud shout from the living ocean called the audience. Ray walked up to the dish that was rising from the floor of the stadium and stared at his younger opponent, who was calmly grasping her light green and blue beyblade. A scale model of the Great Wall of China rose out, the rim of the dish surrounded by realistic mountains. "Looks like Ray will feel right at home in this map, but will his opponent adapt fast enough to win? Let's see!" Brad Best said as the imposing dish appeared. "Beyblades ready!" Ray put up his launcher and saw that Trina was only using a regular Catapult Grip compared to his custom shooter. "3,2,1. Let it rip!!!" Both beyblades sped into the arena and slammed into each other, sparks flying from their attack rings. The jousted for control as they attacked again and again until Driger sped off and skated up the Great Wall's side. Ray's blade leaped onto the wall and raced down its winding path. Trina slitted her eyes and mentally told Leviten to rocket up a mountain and onto the majestic structure. Her beyblade complied and shot up the nearest mountainside, landing a perfect somersault right in front of Ray's gray tinted beyblade. "That's some sweet moves Trina's pulling off!" AJ shouted in awe at the somersault that she executed. Leviten slammed into Driger so hard that Ray's beyblade went a few meters backward and demolished a portion of the Great Wall. Trina's green and blue beyblade bounced onto the uneven railing and began to approach the stunned Bladebreaker's beyblade at high speeds. "Squid Grappler!!!" She yelled and her beyblade obeyed instantly. A purple squid emanated from her beyblade's center and roared ferociously. It raced at the opposing beyblade, which was desperately trying to escape the debri that surrounded it, and replied to its master's request by latching onto Ray's Driger and spinning it around her own. Her beyblade tossed the helpless top straight into a mountain, ending the battle. "How did she do that? That's one awesome bitbeast she's packing!" Brad shouted in surprise and the audience cheered on the young beyblader like one giant voice. Ray fell to his knees pounded the shiny floor. "I lost." He said, tears mingling with his sweat. "The match goes to Blue Passion! Next up are Tyson and his freestyle Dragoon versus the powerhouse Levijas and its master, Anna!" Tyson walked up to Ray and patted his back reassuringly. " Its just one match, Ray." He helped his defeated teammate up and brought him to the bench, where he promptly punched the wall. Tyson pointed a finger at his tall opponent, Anna. "Hey! Get ready to lose! I'm winning this match so don't even bother doing your best!" He yelled. The rival beyblader stroked her hair in response to the threat and readied her dark blue and silver beyblade. Tyson gritted his teeth in frustration and got his Dragoon prepared and loaded it into his launcher. "Beyblades ready! 3,2,1. Let it rip!!!" Both beyblades roared to life as they blasted into the Great Wall, busting holes into the magnificent model with amazing power. Tyson's Dragoon flew over the structure and circled Anna's dashing beyblade. The 2 extremely powerful blades crashed into each other with immense force, destroying a large portion of the arena. After the smoke cleared, Tyson and Anna's beyblades were testing their opponent's skills with an endless barrage of slams. After what seemed like an eternity of hits, the 2 tops slammed into each other and held their ground, causing huge sparks to appear. Anna gave a quick mental command to her blade and watched it evade Tyson's attack. "Shark Slicer!!!" Her bey blade leaped into the air and the attack ring revealed deadly blades protruding from the edge. An armor covered shark appeared over Anna's beyblade, its jaws lined with sharp teeth. "What the!?!" Tyson thought as the spinning blade headed downwards, right toward his white beyblade. "Dragoon! Phantom Hurricane!!!" Tyson shouted in retaliation and a blue dragon appeared, snaking into the air as a tornado formed over his beyblade. The immense winds blew Anna's beyblade right out of the arena and into her hand. She stood there, shocked that she lost to a freestyle beyblader like Tyson. "And Tyson equalizes the game!" AJ Topper shouted over the roar that Tyson's win caused. "We'll take a short intermission break and return with the next match, Dominique versus Kai!" Tyson and the rest of his teammates, aside from the grumpy Kai, celebrated their victory while on the other side of the stadium; the Blue Passion consoled their angered teammate, Anna.  
  
End of Chapter 


	4. Victory isn't always sweet

Beyblades: The Best of the Best  
  
By: Pyroteknix Note: I will stop writing the bloody title every time I write a chapter. It really pisses me off. Please check out my Zoids story, "Counterforce"!  
  
Somewhere inside the vast dome where the Bladebreakers were locked in intense competition with Blue Passion. 3 boys, each dressed in a certain pattern of clothes that matched their bitbeasts, intently watched their team leader practice against 20 computer controlled beyblades with artificially created bitbeasts. His electric blue beyblade with shocking yellow highlights seemed untouchable as each and every opponent he fought with found it impossible to get within 5 cm of his blade. He stood there in his blue short-sleeved shirt with lightning bolts patterned on the sleeves' edges, calmly watching his invincble blade. He snapped his fingers and his beyblade reacted instantly, and discharged a huge amount of energy as it zipped from beyblade to beyblade. In a matter of seconds, beyblade parts littered the arena like discarded garbage. "Send in the replica White Tiger beyblades." The black-haired leader ordered and his teammates responded by launching perfect copies of the White Tiger's beyblades into the practice dish. "Activate M15 prototype." He mentally commanded. His beyblade spun faster and faster until the broken weight disks of the fallen adversaries hovered near his powerful beyblade. "Fire!!!" He yelled and the bits and pieces flew straight at the replica White Tigers, obliterating them in a hailstorm of metal. All but a pink beyblade stood to oppose him and the beyblader merely grinned. "Only one White Tiger is good enough to evade my attack. And this isn't even human controlled. Interesting." He closed his eyes and sent a message to his bitbeast as the pink replica of Mariah's beyblade dashed right at him. "Elektronix, Anninhilation Lightning." He said calmly as a yellow snakelike dragon appeared, every inch of it sparking with electricity. His beyblade launched itself right at the copy of Galux, the bitbeast within the pink beyblade. Electricity coursed out off the electric blue beyblade as it slammed into the White Tiger beyblade, completely destroying the opposing blade in a flash of light. "Good job, Guio." A silver-haired man appeared from behind the shadows, applauding the leader's work. "I don't really care what you say. I only want to defeat Kai and his Dranzer." The tan boy replied tensely. Arcford (A/N: Who do you think the silver-haired guy was anyway?) laughed and pointed to another beyblader, this one dressed in a flaming red jacket with flames outlining the bottom edges of it. "Matt, your turn. Prepare Pyroteknix because we have a new launcher for you." He said evilly.  
  
Elsewhere. "The break's over and were ready to get back to the action!!!" AJ Topper shouted, receiving wild yells from the excited crowd. "Will the famous Kai step up into the ring to get ready for battle with Dominique?" A speaker blared and Kai, leader of the Bladebreakers, nodded and walked out to battle. He stared at Dominique for a while, trying not to get distracted by her prettiness but found it impossible to at such a close distance. "Concentrate, concentrate." He willed himself, but an image of the girl in front of him popped up even when he closed his eyes. "I do not have a weakness. I cannot fall for this trick." He said, mentally blocking out her form. "Kai and his Dranzer are one tough team to beat, but Dominique and Levian the Sea Serpent are also quite powerful!" Brad Best announced loudly. "I must win.cannot get distracted." Kai thought over and over again, desperately trying to rid himself of her image. "Beyblades ready! 3,2,1. Let it rip!!!" Kai opened his eyes and launched his beyblade at full force, avoiding his rival's gaze. Their beyblades circled each other and dueled like two fencers, parrying and attacking with their spinning blades. Sparks flew as the 2 slammed into each other, hoping to be the one to unbalance the other. In the two beybladers minds, one thought reigned over the others. "I usually overpower the other beyblade right at the start, why can't I do that now?" Kai and Dominique thought as their beyblades rammed each other, not one of them giving an inch to the other. "Enough of this!" Kai thought, and summoned his Phoenix bitbeast, Dranzer. "Fire Arrow, now, Dranzer!" He yelled as Dominique summoned her own bitbeast, Levian. "Ocean Upturner, Levian!" She ordered to counter Kai's powerful Dranzer. The 2 beyblades collided with one another, eliminating the entirety of the Great Wall scale model in one big explosion. Their beyblades still spun, dashing around each other like fireflies. "One more time, Dranzer!" "Repeat attack, Levian!" They both yelled, and this time nothing happened. Their beyblades just stopped. Stopped right at the same moment, ending the match with no clear winner. //Dranzer! Why didn't you attack? I was going to win! // //I saved myself, Kai. You didn't want to beat her and if you defeated her, you would have won half-heartedly and lost me. // //That's not true! I want to win every single match! Some stupid emotion isn't going to stop me! // Kai mentally argued with his bitbeast as Dominique did the same. //I could have won that hands down, Levian! Why did you stop? // //Did you want to win completely? // //Well, um, yes! I did want to win! // //You hesitated to beat him. Not me. I only stopped so that I would save myself from an incomplete victory in the heart. // //Shut up! I did not hesitate because of him! // Dominique and Kai finally released all their anger at the beyblades they held in their hands. "SHUT UP!!!" They both yelled at the same time, became surprised and stared at each other. //Dranzer is telling Kai the same thing because; he too, did not want to defeat you. // //Kai, Levian is also telling Dominique what I have lectured you. She felt what you felt, too. // The 2 professional beybladers looked at each other for a while then walked back to their benches. // I do not like her, Dranzer! That is weakness and I do not have weakness! // //You will argue, but in time, you shall see. // Dranzer finished and mentally blocked himself from Kai. The angered Bladebreaker team captain threw his beyblade to the floor as the judges called the match a tie. He looked at the Blue Passion's bench and saw Dominique hit the wall with her fist out of frustration. She noticed Kai looking at her and blushed profusely as Kai did the same. Kai excused himself and went to the bathroom to clear his thoughts with a good douse of cold water. "Whats up with Kai, Ray?" Tyson asked to his bewildered teammate. Ray shrugged casually. "How would I know?" He answered back. "Looks like Max and Erika are facing off in the last battle that will decide the winner of this round! Max's defensive Draciel versus the agile Leviofin, boy is this a match up!" Brad and AJ announced, the crowd responding with whoops of delight. Max nodded and headed off to come face to face with his opponent, Erika. "Beybladers ready!" Max pulled up his Sniper Grip and faced his steely-eyed rival. "3,2,1. Let it rip!!!" Draciel launched right out of Max's shooter and landed in front of Erika's beyblade, spinning back and forth erratically. He charged again and again, evaded by Erika's quicker beyblade. The shorthaired girl shook her head and mentally commanded her bitbeast. A giant dolphin appeared and charged at Max's beyblade, executing the same move she did to Dominique in the night that passed. She spun round and round Max's beyblade, dizzying the crowd with the amazing agility of her blade. Max smiled and slowed the spinning of his stationary beyblade, throwing Erika's blade off balance and tossing it clear out of the smoldering ruins of the arena. "An easy win goes to Max of the Bladebreakers!" The crowd went wild with emotion thanks to Max's quick win. "How did you do that, Max?" Kenny asked, patting the victor's back. "I realized her beyblade's attack relies on the mini-vortex a beyblade creates when it spins, so I simply slowed my spin rate." He said humbly as his ecstatic teammates rejoiced their victory over Blue Passion. "The Bladebreakers win this round by the skin of their teeth!" Brad Best commented as AJ fainted from all the tension. The all-female group walked up to the Bladebreakers and congratulated them. Erika shook Max's hand, her eyes still kind of moist from crying over her loss. Dominique shook each Bladebreaker's hand but looked for Kai, who was nowhere to be found. "Where did Kai go, Tyson?" She asked, and Tyson replied in the same words Ray used. "How would I know?" He shrugged and ran off to catch up with his teammates who were exiting.  
  
Kai sat in the team's room, thinking about what Dranzer had said. "Its impossible. I barely know her and I'm supposed to have hesitated because of her?" // Its called a crush, you moron. // //Dranzer! I told you to shut up! // Kai ran out of the room and bumped into Tyson on his way out. "Hey, Mr. Sourpants! We wo. Hey!" Tyson protested as Kai shoved by him and ran away.  
  
Dominique splashed some cold water into her face, contemplating Levian's message. "Why did I hesitate? I wish I knew." // You know why you hesitated, Dominique. I already told you. // // I do not like him! It's just, just. I don't care!!! Leave me alone! // Dominique ran out the Blue Passion's room, tears welling up in her eyes. // Oops. Guess I shouldn't have irked her. // Levian thought regretfully.  
  
"Ray, you won!" Mariah hugged Ray tightly, and Ray kissed her head gently. "Nah, I lost, remember? My teammates won it for us." Mariah laughed and stroked his raven-black hair. "You still won in my heart." She said, nuzzling him gently. "You really remind of a cat, you know." Ray said jokingly, referring to her feline motions. She smiled and rubbed her head against his chest. "Then let me be your little kitty cat." Mariah said softly. Ray held her close and whispered into her ear. "You will always be." He kissed her on the lips for a fleeting moment and walked off, leaving a very happy Mariah behind. "I hope we don't have to fight their team!" He thought as he proceeded to his team's suite. But he stopped abruptly as he heard Mariah scream from behind him. He whirled around and ran to her, his hands turned into fists. "Raymond, Raymond, Raymond. I already warned you about seeing Mariah." Lee, leader of the White Tigers, stared into Ray's yellow eyes. He held Mariah tightly, covering her mouth as well. Ray gritted his teeth and spat on the carpeted floor in front of Lee. "I despise your guts, Lee." He said angrily, glaring at the powerful beyblader. Lee laughed and replied to the insult. "If I catch you one more time, I'll be telling Kai what you've been doing and kick Mariah off the White Tigers." He threatened, but Ray scoffed at him. "You wouldn't dare kick Mariah of the White Tigers, she's your 4th player." Ray retaliated harshly. "I prepared and got us a back-up beyblader in case of a situation like this." Lee said, grinning maliciously. "Damn you, Lee." Ray said, cursing his rival. "Buh bye!" Lee said, hauling a tearful Mariah away and waving back at Ray. "Mariah."  
  
End of Chapter  
  
Kinda sappy, but I like it! I got a bit bored writing action segments only. 


	5. Splitting Seams

Beyblades: The Best of the Best  
  
By: Pyroteknix  
  
Sigh. Old habits die hard and I can't stop writing the freaking title! Oh, and Dom, I know you hate beyblades but you provided an excellent backdrop for Kai's new friend!  
  
Kai ran and ran, the words of Dranzer reverberating in his head like an ominous echo. He kept on running, fearing what he may become if he gave in to this new emotion. He was scared. Scared of the truth and how it will affect him. His legs protested at the ceaseless torture but Kai couldn't care less. He had more important things to worry about than his body. "She is nothing more than a good beyblader and a rival who happens to be pretty. Nothing more." But the esteemed leader of the Bladebreakers doubted this himself, questioning his vaunted integrity. "Even if you do care, will she return your feelings?" Kai finally stopped, shocked by this new idea. The little voice went on in his mind, ranting on and on. "Who would like you, Kai? Face it, man. You're in over your head. She deserves someone like Max or Ray." It said, taunting him and rebuilding the barrier that separated him from his emotions and feelings. The wall he built during his childhood, the one that was melted by a few words from Dranzer, slowly regenerated but what was halted by a yell for help. Kai snapped back to reality (A/N: Oh, there goes gravity.) and suddenly realized where the sound came from. He rushed to the training facility, cursing himself for not running faster, and saw Dominique, huddled in a corner and surrounded by 3 Dark Eden beybladers. They were ganging up on her, each member clutching their darkly colored beyblades. "Hey, its just one fight. Come on, we'll take you on, one by one." Their leader said, tossing his beyblade into the air and catching it before it fell. "Its only one bitbeast you're going to lose if you fail to beat us." The stocky man said, threatening Dominique with a malicious smile. His expression quickly changed to one of distaste and he choked Dominique with his right hand. "I've lost my patience with you. You battle us, or else." Tightening his grip for emphasis. The Blue Passion captain remained defiant in the face of the other beybladers. "No." The brown-haired Dark Eden beyblader tightened his clamp on her throat even more, suffocating the girl. He raised her with a strong arm and pinned her to the wall, her feet not touching the ground anymore. "It wouldn't be nice for Blue Passion to be disqualified because their leader was to injured to play. So let's battle you impudent little girl!" He yelled, Dominique responding with a weak scream as he punched her in the stomach. "Are you deaf? She said no." Kai said behind gritted teeth, his hand balling into fists. He aimed a punch at a surprised Dark Eden member and caught him squarely on the jaw. The injured beyblader rubbed his sore cheek and ran out the door behind Kai. "I'll call for Marvin!" He shouted as he left Kai with two angry beybladers. The second beyblader threw punches at Kai, which the Bladebreaker countered easily. Kai caught the man's arm in mid-grip and flipped him on his back. Their leader dropped the gasping Blue Passion captain and lunged at Kai, an equal to him in terms of skill. But Kai connected a punch and knocked down his opponent, grabbing him by the collar and pulling back his fist for the finishing blow. The Dark Eden player grinned and pulled out a fanknife, which he used to stab Kai in the leg. He yelled in pain as the metal cut into his flesh and watched the injured beyblader run out the training facility. Kai limped towards the stunned Dominique, every step an agonizing effort as he dripped blood on the steel floor. He touched her cheek lightly and fell onto her lap. "Are you all right?" He asked weakly as his rival began to cry. He put his fingers to her lips to silence her and wiped away her tears. "I said, are you all." He tried to make one last effort to be the seemingly cold-hearted Kai before he fell unconscious on Dominique. Tears mingled with the blood on the floor as the brown-haired beyblader stroked Kai's blue hair affectionately.  
  
Tyson paced the floor of the hospital wing of the dome nervously as they listened to the sobbing Blue Passion captain recount what happened to Kai. Ray sat in the corner of the room, still fuming over Lee and Mariah. Kai was unconscious and resting on a bed, a bloodstained bandage covering the wound. Kenny was monitoring his vital signs, which were okay, and was simultaneously researching the rules of the tournament. "I'm sorry guys, but it says here that our problems are our problems and the officials cannot disqualify the Dark Eden." He said in exasperation, Max replying with an expletive. Tyson stopped his pacing and cursed the officials. "What morons would write such a dumb rule?" Max sighed and informed Dominique that she could leave already. She nodded and proceeded to exit the room when Ray interrupted her. "How do we know you didn't stab him?" He said skeptically and watched as her sorrowful expression changed to that of pure hatred. She glared at Ray and spat at his feet, before she left the room with moist eyes. Max delivered a punch right at Ray's cheek, surprising the Chinese beyblader. "What in the name of God did you do that for?" He yelled at the calm beyblader, wondering why Ray would do such a thing since he was such a compassionate person, normally. "Like I care about what happens to her feelings? Do you think Lee cared when he stole Mariah? I don't give a damn to any of you anymore!" Ray yelled in Max's face. "This all comes down to you, doesn't it Ray? Its only you and Mariah, huh?" Max retaliated; striking a nerve that forced Ray to punch the American with enough force to make him stagger backwards. "You don't know what it's like to love someone!" Ray shouted as Tyson held back the angry Max. Tyson glared at Ray and shouted back. "She did! She likes Kai and you just want to make her feel the agony you're going through because of some hare-brained scheme of Lee!" Ray took a step back, surprised by the accuracy of Tyson. Tyson stared at him, breaking his resolve. "I was right, wasn't I, Ray?" He said as Ray sat down on the couch, the beyblader suddenly realizing what he did. He stared at nothing as the truth hit him like a ton of bricks. "What's happening to me?" He thought, terrified of what he had done.  
  
Outside the room, a beyblader dressed in a night-black cape and a black shirt with a red emblem of a burning tree listened to the heated conversation. "How utterly interesting." He said in a voice that sounded far too mature to be in his tall and skinny frame. Marvin of the Dark Eden walked away from the room regally, each of his steps a stride to be precise. "The bigger they are, the harder they fall. Puny Bladebreakers. I love the way my beautiful psychological attack worked." He chuckled a bit, praising his own ingenuity.  
  
The next day. Kai shifted in his sleep, cursing the stiff pillow they had given him. He tried to fluff the pillow and found it to be warm, soft and "Alive!?!" His eyes shot open and he blinked as daylight streamed into the room. After his eyes adjusted to the change in brightness, Kai looked at what he was resting on. Dominique's head was cradled in his arms, her long hair resting gently on his limbs. She was sitting on a chair beside the bed, her head snuggling Kai's chest. He smiled and held her closer, savoring her fresh smell. "Wonder what shampoo she uses? Smells good." He thought casually as he sat upright. He suddenly gave an involuntary gasp of pain as he clutched his injured leg, memories of last night flooding into him. Dominique started to stir just as he remembered where he was. "Kai?" She asked, rubbing her eyes. Kai put on the most serious face he could muster and pretended not to notice his wound. "Yes, that's my name." He said coldly, desperately trying to hide his emotions. Dominique bolted to a rigid position and tried to make it look like she didn't sneak in to visit him. Kai narrowed his eyes in fake distaste as he looked at her. "What are you doing here?" He asked, concealing his happiness to see her. Dominique did her best to hide a blush and answered in her casual voice. "The other Bladebreakers were too tired to watch over you, so I got stuck with you, Kai." She lied, hoping that Kai didn't get suspicious. He winced as he struggled to get up, Dominique trying to stop him. "Wait! You need to rest!" She protested at his actions and Kai forgot the pain for a while as he heard the worry in her voice. He turned to face her as he got out off the bed. "I have to beyblade. Why do you care anyway?" He said out of curiousity, hoping, no, praying that she would say that she cared. Dominique blushed and turned her face away from Kai's penetrating gaze. Kai grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him. "Why?" He asked sincerely, his eyes staring straight at Dominique's insecure irises. She looked down and pushed away his hand, trying to avoid the question. "None of your business. Goodbye!" She said and ran out the room, visibly embarassed by the situation. Kai rubbed his fingers together, feeling the portion of his hand where he touched Dominique's face. // I told you, Kai. Us bitbeasts have pretty good intuition. // Dranzer commented, receiving a smile from his normally icy master. // You were right. I do feel something, a strange sensation whenever I get near her. My heart beats faster and faster until it seems to explode and I feel blood rush to my cheeks when I see her. // // That is love, Kai. // //I thought love was a weakness, but I feel stronger, far stronger than I have ever been. // Dranzer laughed at his master, so skilled in beyblades but uneducated in terms of his heart. //You're not expected to know everything. //  
  
"The Bladebreakers are up by one point now, but their 4th beyblader is nowhere to be found! Looks like they will have to forfeit!" AJ Topper shouted, glancing at his watch. 'They have 30 more seconds!" He announced, his eyes still glued to his watch. Tyson sighed and looked at his depressed teammates. "I'm sorry, guys. If I won we wouldn't have needed Kai." He said unhappily while their opponents, Riders, were celebrating. Ray patted his shoulder reassuringly. "Were all expected to make mistakes, Tyson. Whether it be of beyblades or of ourselves, we will make mistakes." He said, his mind running through the horrible thing he did last night. Tyson slumped lower, still not satisfied. Ray shook his head and plopped down beside Kenny and Max. Kenny looked at his watch and scratched his head. "So, who will play in the tie-breaker match?" He asked resignedly. "Hold it. I'm here." Kai limped into the stadium, glaring at his teammates who were dancing like monkeys. Max ran up to Kai and stopped him, shaking his head. "Even if we are happy to see you up and about, man, you can't beyblade. You're still injured." He said, slowly pushing Kai backwards. Kai shoved his blonde teammate away and headed for the arena, a gigantic field with green hills dotting it everywhere. "I will play. And you can't do anything about it." Kai said coldly and stared at Max, sending chills up the American's spine. He almost fell as he pulled out his launcher, his leg nearly giving way to pain. He grimaced but stood there proudly, confidently staring at Benjamin, his opponent. The Rider leader grinned and pulled out his equipment while staring at Kai's bleeding leg. (A/N: It's always leader versus leader, huh?) Kai tried to hide a groan of agony as another blast of pain attacked him but was unsuccessful. Benjamin smiled and readied his beyblade. "Beyblades ready!" Kai's eyes drifted towards the crowd and he saw Dominique, sitting beside the other Blue Passion members, obviously worried about him. He forgot the excruciating pain as their eyes connected for what seemed like an eternity to him. Kai's leg stiffened up, ignoring the clawing wound. "3,2,1. Let it rip!!!" But these words were nothing in Kai's mind. His resolved strenghtened, he launched his blade with enough power to level the arena and mentally whispered to Dranzer. //We have to win this. Don't let up. // He said and his bitbeast nodded obediently. Benjamin's amazing defense type beyblade was holding its ground against the awesome force of Dranzer and both the beyblade and the Bladebreaker started to get weary. "Fenfield. Galloping Whirlwind!!!" The Rider's majestic White Horse bitbeast rose up from the center of his white and green blade, neighing loudly. Benjamin's beyblade spun towards Kai's exhausted Dranzer, winds whipping around the edges. It collided with Dranzer, but Kai wasn't about to give up. His bitbeast screamed in pain in Kai's mind and Kai felt the pain return to his leg. He saw Dominique, clutching the side of her seat in anxiety and sweat visibly poured from her forehead. Kai bit his lip and focused on the battle, ignoring his aching leg. "Dranzer! Fire Arrow at full force!!!" He shouted before his wound overpowered his mind and sent him falling to the floor. He watched in a fetal position as his beyblade slammed into Benjamin's and in a flash of brilliant white light, he defeated him. Benjamin's Fenfield flew out of the arena and landed on the Rider's open palm. Benjamin shook his head in acceptance of defeat and walked up to Kai. "Nice match. Do you need some help?" Kai nodded and wobbled back into an upright position. "You really are the greatest beyblader ever." Benjamin said humbly before walking back to his disappointed teammates. On the other hand, the Bladebreakers were rejoicing and swarming atound Kai, who pushed them away coldly. //I wonder how I won that? I was too wounded to have been victorious. // //Do I have to repeat everything? It was love. // //I can't understand how this love thing is supposed to help you win. There's no science behind it. // //Not everything can be answered. Hey! I finished our last dialogue with a weird phrase like that! // Kai laughed inside his mind and put on his usual pessimistic face, closing his eyes as his teammates rejoiced.  
  
Matt and RG of the BladeTech, tan-skinned boy who were an open scientist's coat with khaki pants and a black T-shirt, watched the Blue Passion leader intently as she chatted with her conpanions. They were partially concealed behind a wall, the 2 beybladers leaning against the cold wood. Matt shook his head in mock pity. "I do believe Kai has a weakness now." He said quietly, as not to attract attention. RG smirked and nudged his fair- skinned teammate in the ribs. "Yeah. He was looking at that girl for pretty much the whole fight. You think we should tell Guio?" Matt started walking and RG followed. "Definitely." The duo began to laugh and raced down the hallway. "Man, is he going to pulverize Kai. Wanna bet on what he's going to do to the girl?" RG said, jokingly. "Sure. Bet you it's going to be kidnap for ransom and the ransom will be a grand total of one loss! Hahahahahaha!" The 2 beybladers kept on laughing and laughing until they clutched their chests and gasped for air. "Damn, do we have a sick sense of humor or what?" Matt commented and the 2 BladeTech players fell on the floor again, laughing their hearts out.  
  
Ray sat on a bench on one of the balconies in the dome, wistfully thinking about Mariah. "Mariah. Why does Lee have to get in the way all the time." He thought, images of the he loved flitting through his head. He absentmindedly stroked the wooden bench's arm, wishing it were Mariah. He sighed and stared at the bright stars twinkling high in the sky. (A/N: Everyone knows that stars do not really twinkle but it sounded nice in my story.) He put his hands behind his head and gazed at the heavens, mentally connecting them to form Mariah's face. // You could begin calling Mariah you're obsession, not your love. // Driger joked, reading his mind perfectly. // Don't get me angry, Driger. // Ray replied in mock seriousness. The bitbeast and boy laughed silently, a smile forming on Ray's face. Rain began to fall on Ray's head and his hair drooped over his eyes. //Ha! I'm nice and dry inside your beyblade! // The White Tiger bitbeast announced teasingly to the soaked Ray. Ray pulled out his beyblade and pretended to punch it when he bolted upright. He whirled around, his fists up, and saw Mariah in front of him. "Isn't it cold and lonely out here?" She asked, her pink hair clinging to her clothes due to the moisture. Ray looked surprised and blinked for a while, thinking that this was a dream. "Mariah, why did you follow me? You'll get kicked out of the White Tigers!" He exclaimed, running up to her with questioning eyes. She shivered involuntarily and Ray frowned. He took of his shirt and placed it on her cold back, warming her. Mariah walked up to him and nuzzled his bare chest in a very feline way. "I don't care. I don't think the White Tigers would win without me anyway." She protested and shivered again, this one accompanied by a sneeze. Ray shook his head and hugged her tightly. "Now look, you're catching a cold." He said, covering her from the rain with his body. Mariah laughed, flashing her fang-like teeth. "This should warm you up."Ray gently stroked her hair and kissed her on the lips. Mariah returned the favor and the 2 were kissing passionately in the rain, their lips savoring each other. Ray broke the intimate moment and kissed her lightly on the forehead. "Goodbye, my little kitty cat. Its my turn to check up on our esteemed leader." He said with mock respect, receiving a giggle from Mariah. Mariah pulled him back and held his hand firmly. "Oh no you don't! Last time you left me, Lee found us. I'm going with you." She said, her voice filled with finality. Ray opened his mouth to argue but shook his head in defeat and walked hand-in-hand with Mariah.  
  
End of Chapter  
  
Pyroteknix: Don't kill me Dom! It's a story, for crying out loud! Aww, come on. Hey, whats that frying pan for? Don't even try to hit me! I can sue you! ** BONK!!!**  
  
Note by Aerodynamix the Alter ego of Pyroteknix: Due to, um, circumstances, Pyroteknix will be unable to announce that he will change the rating to PG- 13 due to swearing and some violence.  
  
Pyroteknix: Who am I? And why the hell is that girl swinging that fryi. **THWACK!!!**  
  
Aerodynamix: Oh great. Now she's coming for me. Bye my good fans!  
  
Pyroteknix: What electric fans? **THUD!!!** Owww. (Rubs three lumps on head) **SPLAT** (. Make that 4)  
  
Aerodynamix: (Stops halfway from exiting) Oh yeah! This chapter shall remain G, but when I upload the next chapter, that will be PG-13! **DENK!!!** (Falls unconscious. Sorry for lousy comic sound, "DENK!!!" was the only thing I could think of.) 


	6. The flame of hatred, Matt

Beyblades: The Best of the Best  
  
By: Pyroteknix  
  
Pyroteknix: Ooooh, my aching head. Who hit me? Hey, Dom! Why are you carrying that pan behind your back? I've got a bad feeling about this. **BONK!!!**  
  
Aerodynamix: Yesss! Kai fights with Marvin of Dark Eden, street brawl style! And Tyson meets Matt and his bitbeast, Pyroteknix!  
  
Pyroteknix: That name sounds awfully familiar. **THUD!!!**  
  
Tyson strolled out off the hospital room, glad to have Ray take his shift in watching over Kai. He whistled, taunting Ray who involuntarily got the night shift, and laughed as he heard Ray complain about the couch he had to sleep on. He walked hands in his pockets, twiddling his beyblade without a care in the world. "God! Am I hungry!" Tyson thought and dashed off, heading for the dining hall. He zipped beside the buffet table, pulled out the shovel Kenny gave him for Christmas and dug in, literally. He scooped in the food like a monster, chomping down on the delicious edibles. Chewing a mouthful of roast pork, he eyed a boy clad in a red jacket and white shirt eating quietly. He would have looked normal if he didn't have a dozen plates stacked with food around him and even more empty ones littering the table. The black-haired boy raised his eyebrow when he saw Tyson suspiciously eyeing him. He smirked, spun his fork and spoon around and caught then again. And in a few lightning-fast motions, stuffed his mouth with all the food he had in front of him and gulped it down in a way that is only possible in the world of fanfiction. Tyson eyes bugged out as he saw him accomplish this amazing display of eating skills. "Kind off slow, aren't you?" The boy said tauntingly, wiping his hands with a napkin. Tyson's face lit up and he devoured the food in front of him at an amazing rate, the other beyblader laughing hysterically. Tyson gulped down the last shovel-full of chow and challenged the fairskinned boy. "Want to battle? I beat I can beat you in 1 minute flat." He boasted, the other boy's eyes narrowing into slits. "I hate it when someone says they can beat me." He said angrily, pulling out a red beyblade with orange and yellow stripes waves decorating. Tyson extracted his Dragoon from his pocket and smiled cockily. "Well then, get used to it 'cause I'm going to be bragging about my win against, against. What's your name?" "Matt. Matt of BladeTech. And don't you forget it, Tyson." The boy replied behind gritted teeth. Tyson chuckled at his reaction and got an empty bowl from the buffet table. He laid it on the floor and got his customized launcher out. Matt grinned at the sight of Tyson's high-tech launcher. "You call that a launcher? Here is mine." He boasted loudly and pulled out a launcher with its own onboard computer. But the most striking feature of the flame-red launcher was a tank filled with a light green liquid, connected to the launcher by means of a silver pipe. "This is my Big Bang launcher, Tyson. I hope you're afraid." Matt said tauntingly. Tyson readied his blade as Matt did the same. The BladeTech beyblader pressed a button on the side of his launcher and Tyson watched as the beyblade spun around like a dial, finally settling on a position. Tyson ticked off 3 fingers and went the third went down; he blasted his Dragoon straight into the metal bowl. Matt's eyes slitted and he pulled the ripcord with inhuman power, the already intense speed amplified by a huge bang that shook the walls of the dining hall. Matt's blade evaded Tyson's opening attack with amazing speed, countering with a charge that nearly toppled the Bladebreaker's beyblade. "Swallow this, Matt!" Tyson yelled as Dragoon snaked out of his beyblade and formed a huge hurricane. Matt closed his eyes and sent a mental message to his bitbeast. "Activate kinetic charger." His bitbeast complied and his firey-colored beyblade leaped into the tornado, greatly surprising Tyson. "What's this? Do you want to destroy your blade?" Tyson shouted over the gale-force winds as Matt's beyblade spun in the air. The BladeTech beyblader's eyes shot open and he glared at Tyson. "You wish." He said calmly and sent another mental message to his Red Eagle bitbeast. "Open storage cells." "Go, Pyroteknix!!!" Matt shouted and Tyson watched in awe as his opponent's beyblade spun against the tornado, causing the deadly spiral to disappear. Matt's beyblade landed on the steel with a harsh clang and zipped about, leaving "ghost" images behind. The brown-haired BladeTech player snapped his fingers, the signal to annihilate Tyson's beyblade. Pyroteknix burst into flames and charged at Dragoon with unbelievable force, completely shattering the helpless top. Matt's beyblade cooled down, steam rising where there was once fire and shot into Matt's gloved right hand. Tyson dropped to his knees and picked up the smoking powder that was once his beyblade. Dragoon appeared, dripping silver blood. Tyson held out his extra bit piece and Dragoon surged inside the coin-shaped container. Matt checked his watch and smiled smugly. "30 seconds. Looks like you couldn't hold a candle to my inferno." The amazingly powerful beyblader taunted the shocked Tyson, still holding the infinitesmal remnants of his beyblade.  
  
Kai quietly sat upright, trying not to awaken Ray, who was snoring like a gorrila. He stealthily exited the room and walked away from his sleeping guard. "Ha! And they think my leg still needs recovery!" He broke off into a run, his strides muffled by the carpeting. He stopped abruptly, as he heard a sound come from behind him. Pressing his back against the wall, he eavesdropped on what appeared to be the Dark Eden. Their leader, clothed in a short black cape with a deathly black shirt accompanying the robe, was berating his teammates. Kai noticing that they all wore black shirts with a red insignia of a tree, watched Marvin, the caped leader, curse his companions. "It was only one girl and her little friend! Why the hell couldn't you overpower them and get their bitbeasts?" He shouted angrily, spit flying in their faces. One of them stepped forward and confronted Marvin, his head bowed. "Sorry, captain. I was unable to critically wound Kai as planned." Kai remembered the voice of the person who choked Dominique and stabbed him with the fan knife. Marvin sighed and lightly punched his teammate's head. "I apologize for degrading you and the rest of Dark Eden, but we cannot afford more slip-ups. The Bladebreakers are the only team that can beat us." He said, and his companions breathed a sigh of relief. Marvin smiled and continued. "But this means we have to train harder now! Joseph," Marvin said, referring to the person who stabbed Kai. " Bring JC and Mark to the training area. I need to get rid of an eavesdropper." Marvin's eyes fixed onto Kai's calm and confident face as his teammates walked away. The master of Dark Eden walked up to his angered opponent, who raised his fists. The Bladebreaker captain made the first move. "Why did you want Dominique and her bitbeast?" He said, accusation sharpening his question. Marvin shrugged and put his hands into his pockets. "I merely wanted her bitbeast. It was my comrades who wanted her." Kai's mouth curled into a frown as the beyblader in front of him taunted him. "But I see their reasons. She is unusually pretty. Why, there are rumors that even you, the great Kai, have a crush on her." This was the last straw for Kai and he assaulted Marvin with various martial arts. The Dark Eden leader countered all these attacks like a professional and finally restrained Kai by holding both of his arms behind his back. "I'll finish this." He said, pulling out another fan knife, this one tinted an eerie bloodred. Marvin held the knife above his head and prepared to get rid off the most powerful beyblader ever with one slash to the neck. Suddenly, the Dark Eden beyblader released his grip on Kai and dropped the deadly weapon as a hand slapped him. He ducked a punch from the freed Bladebreaker and somersaulted backwards, a few feet away from the 2 people attacking him. Kai whirled around and saw Dominique, offering the knife to him, acting nonchalant. "I thought the great Kai could take care of himself." She said teasingly, before Kai leaped into action. The knife met air as Marvin ducked the slashes, exhibiting amazing agility. Marvin sighed and tossed a bomb on the floor, the explosive releasing a thick smoke. Kai covered his mouth with his sleeve and searched for Marvin in the dense cloud. But to no avail as the beyblader disappeared, like the magician he resembled because of his cape. Kai hid his feelings as he glared at Dominique in a stoic manner. The Blue Passion leader frowned and stared back at him. "Why were you hanging around my team's room?" She asked, receiving the cold shoulder from Kai as he turned around to hide his reddening cheeks. He put his hands into his pocket and walked away, mentally hitting himself for not having the courage to tell the truth. // Damn, Damn, Damn! Why can't I spit it out? // // You coward. I can't belive you couldn't tell her the truth! // // Why am I taking critiscm from you? It's merely a crush I have on her and I do not love her. // //Yeah right, Kai. // " All right, all right! So I do like her! What does that mean to you, Dranzer!" Kai shouted aloud. // The beyblader has fallen for my trap. She can still hear you. // //Shit! Damn you Dranzer! // Kai blushed a shade of dark red and tried not to look at Dominique's questioning eyes behind him. The female beyblader started to blush as well and tried to cover her face. "Um, well, bye, Kai!" She said as she ran into her room and locked the door. //I hate you Dranzer. // //Thank you. //  
  
Dominique tossed and turned in her bed, thinking about what Kai said and blushing when she remembered him blush when he turned to look at her. She smiled before finally sleeping. "Kai."  
  
Next day. Ray woke up and greeted an empty bed. "Hello. What the?" He shouted in surprise, as he saw no Kai resting on the cot. He searched frantically, wondering where Kai was. "That girl! If Kai's not here, he's following that girl!" Ray shot out of the room, and tripped over Tyson, sleeping on the carpeted floor while clutching what appeared to be powder. He shook his teammate up, not bothering to ask why he fell asleep in front of Kai's room. "Tyson, get up!" He shouted, staring into glazed eyes. Ray promptly dropped Tyson, freaked out by his strange expression. He kept on mumbling something about Dragoon and pieces, puzzling his Chinese comrade. Finally Ray understood his jabber and realized what the powder was. "My God, what force on earth could have totalled Dragoon like that?" Ray thought, horrified by the idea He left Tyson and ran to Dominique's room and found Kai, peeping through an open door. He punched Kai in the head and ducked a counterattack from his leader. "What the hell do you think you're doing? You're supposed to be resting! And why are you looking into that girl's room?" Ray said, jolting back Kai to reality, stressing the word "girl". "My leg is fine." Kai replied and gave very concrete proof by kicking Ray in the stomach. Ray shrugged; rubbing his stomach but further pursued his question. "And why are you peeping inside that girl's room?" He said accusingly, repeating his previous statement. His leader glared at him, took one last glance at the sleeping beyblader inside and ran off. "Damn. I did it again."  
  
Kenny and Max were chowing down at the breakfast hall when a zombie- like Tyson arrived, clutching a white substance that appeared to be sand. "Hey, Tyson! Want to sit over here?" Kenny said, waving his hand. A man dressed in a flaming-red jacket walked up to the Bladebreakers. "He won't listen to you. He's far too traumatized by my power." The boy said and pointed to the powdery substance with a smile on his face. "Oh, and good luck with the Flying High." The boy said, jovially shaking their hands before he walked up to another beyblader dressed in a brown leather jacket with a light blue shirt under the opened vest. "Dean, tell Guio I have eliminated Tyson." The other BladeTech beyblader nodded with a grin and walked off.  
  
End of chapter  
  
Pyroteknix: I'm now in hiding and Dom can't hit me anymore! Yipee!  
  
Aerodynamix: When do we meet the Flying High team? They sound really cool!  
  
Pyroteknix: Patience, my dear alter ego. Maybe next chapter. (Leans against dark wall of cave.) Hmmm. This wall feels alive. **WHACK!!!**  
  
Aerodynamix: Augh! She found us!!! Run for it! **SPLAT!!!** 


	7. Flying for victory

Beyblades: The Best of the Best  
  
By: Pyroteknix  
  
Aerodynamix: Hello! Pyroteknix and me are currently in the hospital, recovering from multiple concussions, amnesia, head injuries, temporary psychosis. The list is endless.  
  
Pyroteknix: Strange, isn't it? All this due to a pan. They make kitchen utensils a lot harder nowadays.  
  
Aerodynamix: I wonder where Dom went, I mean it's been 6 sentences already and we haven't been hit on the head.  
  
Pyroteknix: (Still suffering from mild psychosis) I'd be happy to hit you! (Grabs flower vase beside hospital beds)  
  
Aerodynamix: I can never keep my big mouth shut. **THWACK!!!**  
  
Pyroteknix: Bwahahahahah! Who am I? (Hits self.) **CRASH!!!**  
Kai sat cross-legged on a bench by the entrance of the giant dome, thoughts on how to humiliate Ray whirling in his head. He fingered his black beyblade, imagining the beyblade ripping apart Driger in an instant. He clutched his blade even harder, squeezing it as though it was Ray's black-haired head. "Why do you have to be so nosy, Ray?" He said aloud, cursing the day Mr. Dickinson brought Ray in the Bladebreakers. He was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't notice a beyblader walk beside him and listen to his curses. He tapped his shoulder and Kai whirled around to come face to face with Guio of the BladeTech. "So, is this about that girl, Dominique?" He asked, catching a punch Kai threw at him, crushing the fist that would have connected with his face. "Don't worry, you won't be bothered by her for a while." He said smugly, Kai's eyes slitting in response. "What do you mean, whoever you are?" The Bladebreaker said suspiciously, his eyes staring at the amused beyblader. "I'm Guio, leader of BladeTech. And as for your first question, I won't answer it." The tan beyblader said defiantly, cockily glaring down Kai. Kai threw another punch at Guio's head, but the BladeTech beyblader dodged it easily. "Answer me, you spineless coward!" Kai shouted, frustrated. Guio gritted his teeth, clenching his fists. " No one calls me a coward!" Guio retaliated, anger tinting his voice as he pulled out his electric blue beyblade with shocking yellow highlights. Kai glared back and pulled out his beyblade, ready to battle. Kai eyed a metal bowl, left by some careless beyblader. The 2 opposing forces walked up to the dish, Kai pulling out his Spring Shooter while Guio pulled out his. "Do you know what happened to Tyson's Dragoon because he insulted my teammate, Matt?" Guio said, revealing another custom- made launcher, electric blue to match his beyblade. "His beyblade became powder, literally." Kai's eyes grew big at this terrifying warning. "I'll show you the power of my Elektronix and my Magnet Launcher!!!" The BladeTech captain shouted as he fired his beyblade with blistering power that would be impossible for a normal beyblader to achieve. Gears and gadgets whirred to life as the ripcord shot out, blasting his beyblade with the added force of an electromagnet concealed inside. The 2 beyblades slammed into each other, sparks flying everywhere. Like Matt, Guio shut his eyes and concentrated. "Activate electromagnetic field." He mentally ordered his bitbeast. Kai's Dranzer sped towards the stationary blade of Guio and was shocked as his beyblade bounced off an invisible wall. He kept on trying to get within 5cm of Guio's beyblade, but was repelled by some unseen force. Guio's eyes were still firmly closed as he sent another command to his Electric Dragon, Elektronix. "Activate M15 mechanism" The experienced Bladebreaker was stunned as his beyblade began to hover and float higher and higher above the arena. Guio's eyes opened as he ordered the execution of his bitbeast's final attack. "Rising Thunder to Annihilation Lightning!" Guio simply said, but these words made Kai flinch as he wondered what type of bitbeast would be able to perform a combination of attacks. The electric blue blade sped up the wall of the arena and hovered over the floating Dranzer for a while before crashing down on the black beyblade. Kai was skilled enough to have dodged part of the attack, but even so, a portion of his beyblade was cut off entirely. Dranzer was still spinning, but fell prey to a quick slam from Guio's immensely strong beyblade and bitbeast. The BladeTech leader smiled and held a gloved hand over the arena. His blade shot up, and stayed glued to his palm. Kai, on the other hand, was holding his extremely damaged beyblade, noting the fact that the part of it that was cut off by Guio's attack was blasted into oblivion. "Ha! So you're not that good." The victorious beyblader remarked before walking off. "Oh, and Kai, Dominique told us to tell you that she just wanted to say goodbye." Kai looked up from his beyblade and stared at the retreating BladeTech member. "Dominique said goodbye? Isn't her team staying to watch the tournament?" The defeated Bladebreaker thought skeptically. +++Kai of the Bladebreakers, please report to the arena for your match against Flying High+++ A computerized voice emanating from a speaker said. // Dranzer, I will have to relocate your bit piece in my extra beyblade. // // All right. Kai, I do not feel Dominique's presence. There is something wrong here. // //What! Can you find her? // Dranzer sent a mental emotion of helplessness. Kai kicked the dish and ran off to meet his teammates. "She's probably just watching the tournaments," Kai thought, but he doubted himself.  
  
Max was locked in intense competition with his opponent, Nico of the Flying High when Kai ran over to the bench. But the blonde American didn't pay any attention to his team leader, as he was too busy determining a good strategy to use against the lightning-fast beyblade. Nico owned the speed- enhancing Destoker, a Falcon bitbeast. The Flying High beyblader was utilizing every bit of speed his bitbeast could supply to outrace Max's Draciel like a fox chasing a snail. He zipped about, leaving Max's green beyblade in the dust. Max was visibly nervous, sweat dripping from his forehead as he desperately tried to attack Nico's silver beyblade. "That's it. I'm bored. Magna Blitzer!" Nico shouted as his Bladebreaker rival watched in awe as Nico's beyblade charged for his beyblade, splitting into multiple images on the way. "Draciel! Defense!" But it was too late for Max's beyblade as it was knocked out off the arena in one sweep of Nico's shiny beyblade. "And Flying High soars over the competition with Nico's speed!" "Aro D. Namix, tell me again why you're temporarily replacing AJ Topper?" Brad Best asked the new commentator. "Because my name can't be used in the story, I decided to be a commentator!" The new guy shouted over the din of the audience. Brad shook his head and announced the next players. "Enzo with his wicked bitbeast Desfir, the Shining Hawk, will light things up a little as he battles Kai and the red-hot Phoenix, Dranzer!" Kai silently walked up to his new opponent, his eyes scanning the crowd for Blue Passion. And he spotted them, without Dominique. Anna and Erika were comforting the sobbing Trina, her older sister missing. "Where the heck did she go?" He asked himself as he readied to fight the taller Flying High beyblader, Enzo. "Beyblades ready!" Aro Namix shouted, receiving applause from the crowd. "3,2,1. Let it rip!" The new guy shouted, watching as the 2 beybladers launched their blades into the scale model of a high-speed raceway that was the arena. "Wow! It looks like Dranzer is upping the speed here a bit as he overtakes Desfir on the second turn!" Enzo scratched his head in reply to this burst of speed put on by an old beyblade model Kai had to use while his real blade was damaged. Desfir suddenly appeared in front of Kai's beyblade, then reversed its trajectory and slammed into Dranzer like a bulldozer. Dranzer retaliated and knocked away the lighter beyblade of Enzo. The Flying High beyblader smiled and looked down at the arena. Kai, puzzled, followed his gaze and saw, well, nothing. Enzo's beyblade completely disappeared, but something unseen was attacking Dranzer. Kai looked around, wondering where Desfir disappeared. "Stupid Shining Hawk! Where did it go?" Kai thought, frustrated by this development. Then, a faint glimmer caught his eye as something slammed into the weakening Dranzer. "Wait a second. It's called a Shining Hawk, right? What if it's just so reflective that it becomes invisible?" He mentally commanded Dranzer to head under a few miniature trees beside the racetrack and, sure enough, he spotted Desfir appear in the shadows. "Dranzer! Fire Arrow!" He yelled and watched as his beyblade slammed into nothing. "What?" He thought in panic, as his beyblade didn't connect with anything. Then he saw another glimmer in the air and realized that Desfir was in the air. Enzo grinned happily and waved at Kai. "My turn! Desfir, Blinding Light!" Suddenly a light flashed in Kai's eyes, temporarily blinding him. Kai rubbed his eyes and the next thing he saw was the silver Desfir heading straight for Dranzer like a rocket. Predicting Enzo's next move, Kai launched his beyblade at the speeding hawk, watched it disappear, faked puzzlement, and then attacked the apparently empty spot to his right. Enzo's Desfir flew over his head and landed with a resounding clang on the cold steel floor. The surprised beyblader approached Kai and shook his hand, asking how he found out where he was. "Your beyblade is right spin. I noticed it while it was visible." Kai replied and walked towards his teammates. Enzo's eyes got big at amazement of Kai's amazing perceptiveness. "Phoenix overpowers Hawk and wins the first victory for the Bladebreakers today!" A speaker said, the voice of the commentator filled with excitement. Brad Best began announcing the next duo of beybladers. "Its R versus R as Ray and his Tiger, Driger, goes head on with Raisa's deadly Vulture, Desmega!" Ray walked up to his female opponent, a girl dressed in a red vest with a black wing on it, the symbol of the Flying High. She looked dead serious, her lips sealed shut while she concentrated. The Bladebreaker pulled out his launcher and clipped on his white beyblade. The girl removed a stray brown hair that got in hair raven-black eyes and pulled out her beyblade, interestingly enough, it was black colored like her eyes. "Beyblades ready! 3,2,1. Let it rip!!!" And did they ever rip. Ray's Driger sped onto the winding track, cutting a line through the tarmac with the intense speed. The black beyblade of Raisa bounced off a tree and skipped of a wall to land directly behind Driger. The WhiteTiger bitbeast evaded her opening attack and charged after her like a bullet. He zipped back and forth, trying to confuse the focused girl. She grinned and her beyblade jumped backward, landing smack on the bit piece of Driger. She drilled his blade for a while before leaping off. Ray reversed his beyblade and watched as his opponent's blade somersaulted over his, rocketed off a tree and blasting Driger like a cannonball. Her beyblade jumped again and sliced Ray's blade from the top, seriously damaging Driger. "She keeps on jumping!" He thought, angered by her above average skills. Then an idea hit him like a bullet in the head. His enemy smiled and her beyblade jumped into the air again, ready to deliver the final blow. "Sawblade!" She yelled and her beyblade released a gigantic black Vulture as it to come chopping down on Ray's white blade. "Driger! Attack, now!" Ray shouted and his beyblade jumped straight up to meet the great Vulture. Ray's beyblade tilted, the attack ring hitting Raisa's attack ring as well, sending her blade out off the arena. A few seconds after Raisa's blade flew away, Driger stopped spinning, completely exhausted. "What a close match, people! But Ray triumphs and brings the Bladebreakers one step closer to victory!" Raisa dropped to her knees and stared at her smoking beyblade. "How did he defeat me?" She wondered, her tears dripping on the floor. Ray walked up to her and patted her on the back, explaining his win even though she didn't ask. "You focused too much on attacking my top and bottom. I figured you couldn't withstand a direct hit from my attack ring." He said comfortingly. She looked up at him and smiled weakly. "You're the first person who ever beat me." Ray smiled and began to walk away. "Nobody's perfect. But if I'm the only one who could beat you, then you're close to that." Raisa wiped away her tears and watched as Ray walked to his teammates. Tyson nudged Ray in the ribs. "If you keep scoring with the ladies like that, Mariah's going to get jealous." He teased, and the 2 Bladebreakers engaged in a small scuffle. "Tyson!" Ray said in mock anger, lightly punching his buddy's shoulder. "This may be the last match for Flying High, but will their leader, Ian, pull of a victory with his awesome bitbeast, Desrazor?" AJ Topper said, shoving away Aro from the microphone. Aro grumbled as he was led by security to the exit. "Tyson is just the man to stop him and his Blue Eagle with his amazing Dragoon bitbeast!" Brad replied, receiving shouts of excitement from the crowd. Ian of Flying High walked up confidently, his face concealed by a racing mask that only showed off his ominous green eyes. Tyson held his new beyblade, designed by Kenny and far more powerful than the one that got destroyed in the battle with Matt. "Hey, hotshot! You're going down!" Tyson boasted, receiving mixed replies from the crowd. His opponent merely glared at him with his penetrating eyes and shut the visor of his helmet. He pulled out a red and white beyblade from one of his racing suit's many pockets and attached it to what seemed to be an extended launcher. "What type of launcher is that?" AJ Topper exclaimed as they stared at the silent figure of Ian, who was attaching his beyblade. Tyson frowned, remembering Matt's Big Bang launcher. On the side of Ian's unique launcher were what appeared to be jet thrusters, a few centimeters above the readied beyblade. Tyson attached his own beyblade and stared at the quiet yet imposing beyblader. "Beyblades ready! 3,2,1. Let it rip!!!" Tyson let loose his beyblade, causing quite a stir with the immense power he released. But Ian was no pushover either, getting even more noise when the dual turbines roared to life as he pulled the ripcord. The beyblades hit each other at full force, Ian's blade eventually knocking Tyson's back. That few seconds that Ian had without any disturbance from Tyson were used well as Ian's blade darted away, shocking the beyblading world with the incredulous speed. Tyson tried to keep up with him but the red and white beyblade lapped him over and over again, until his opponent had enough. He shook his head in boredom and folded his arms as the Bladebreaker finally stopped trying to race his beyblade. Tyson got dizzy as he watched Ian's beyblade move faster and faster, but Ian wasn't even in full gear yet. On the sidelines, Max, Ray and Kenny were watching with awe as Desrazor continued to lap Tyson easily, and if it was possible, accelerated to move even faster. Kenny nervously consulted his laptop. "Dizzi, what's his current speed?" Dizzi didn't have a wisecrack for this one and simply flashed the number. Kenny grabbed his head in surprise and started to tear off his brown hair. "800 miles per hour and counting!" He exclaimed, stunning his teammates. Max rubbed his head and looked back at Tyson, visibly exasperated. "At this rate, he should break the speed barrier very soon!" Max shouted, remembering his science lessons. A huge boom followed Max's sentence very shortly and Tyson was knocked backwards as his blade was sent hurtling out off the arena. "What a way to go! Ian wins that match without breaking a sweat!" Brad shouted, as AJ twiddled with his ear. Max and Ray walked up to the dizzy Tyson and carried the delusional beyblader to the bench. "We have a 5th match for you, folks! The team leaders, Kai and Ian will battle it out with their brutal beyblades!" Kai walked up to his stoic adversary, noting the fact that he began pouring fuel into his launcher. "How strange." Kai thought, as he pulled out his spring grip and beyblade, ready to battle. "Beyblades ready! 3,2,1. Let it rip!!!" Ian's roaring launcher drowned out every other sound in the stadium as he prepared to pull out all stops for this match. Dranzer deflected Ian's first charge and stopped his Desrazor from reaching an overly high speed. But Ian broke through his blockade basketball style, faking twice and moving in for the point. He sped off, leaving Dranzer in a cloud of dust as he accelerated. Kenny typed in data from the battle noting the exceptional agility and speed of Desrazor. "Wow! 0 to 120 in 2 seconds! Even jets don't move that fast!" The resident data collector of the Bladebreakers exclaimed. This was a fact that wasn't lost on Kai as he slowly calculated his turns and acceleration. After he fully understood the physics of Desrazor, he readied his blade for the slam of its lifetime. Ian's blade rounded the racetrack's corner at a blistering 870 miles per hour, ready to pass by Dranzer. But Kai expected this and suddenly put his Dranzer in incredible danger as it dashed to block the speeding Blue Eagle. Both beyblades collided with enough force to send both beyblades teeter tottering on the edge of the smoking arena. Dranzer scooted back into the giant crater were he stood before as Desrazor rushed at the Phoenix, ready to strike. But it zipped backwards just as Kai braced for impact. Zooming up the vertical wall and launching himself into the air, Ian summoned his bitbeast, a majestic eagle with gold and blue plumage. Kai would have sworn his enemy grinned behind his helmet at this well planned strategy. "But why the hell did he shoot up the wall?" His question was answered as invisible projectiles demolished portions of the ground surrounding his Dranzer. "What the?" Kai's gaze shifted back to Ian's beyblade and was stunned as he realized what it was doing. It was flying. The beyblade was flying, spinning so fast that it hovered in the air like a helicopter. And as for the invisible attacks, gales whipped around Ian's red and white beyblade and Ian was able to launch them by means of precise rising of his spin speed. He had such perfect control over his blade that he had it chase the fleeing Dranzer as he bombarded it with powerful winds. It overtook the black beyblade it was fighting and landed on railing, trying to conserve energy by not flying. But Ian did not let up with his wind assault, destroying the arena surrounding Dranzer, occasionally hitting Dranzer itself. A blast connected squarely with Dranzer and it somersaulted away, visibly damaged but still capable of fighting. Kai shouted out, releasing his anger and sending his beyblade at full speed towards Desrazor. "Fire Arrow!!!" He ordered, clenching his fist as his beyblade zipped from side to side, evading Ian's attacks. Behind his red helmet, Ian sweated as he desperately tried to hit the enraged bitbeast and decided it was time to unleash Desrazor's full power. "Desrazor! Eagle Rapid Fire!" He shouted, the first time the Bladebreakers heard his voice. More gales fired out from his beyblade, which was shooting like a machine gun. But Dranzer moved even faster, evading the deadly bursts that disintegrated sections of the arena. Sweat poured profusely from Ian's forehead as he started to shoot a lot more frantically due to the intense pressure. "Shotgun Shell!" Ian finally commanded his bitbeast and it complied by directing 5 gales right at the speeding Dranzer. A huge explosion rocked the entire dome, shaking the Bladebreakers and Flying High until they were all sprawled on the floor. Everyone fell, everyone except Kai and Ian who held their ground during the immense attack. Ian smiled and began to feel confident of victory. But he was way off mark. Dranzer shot out of the smoke and debris, slamming into the surprised Desrazor. The red and white beyblade shot at Ian's face with amazing power, slicing his helmet into 2 pieces as Dranzer balanced precariously on the edge of the completely destroyed arena. "What a match! That really blew me away!" "You, Ian and Flying High, you mean." AJ Topper laughed as the crowd cheered Kai on. "Looks like Kai clipped his wings and along with it, a hope for victory!" Brad Best announced over the screams of the audience. Ian's sweaty black hair clung to his racing uniform as he shook his head sadly. He picked up his beyblade and stared at his victorious opponent, who was looking at the floor. He shrugged and headed back to his teammates, who were unhappy yet amazed at the skills Ian was hiding from them. "Lets all give a hand for the valiant loser, Ian!" Ian turned his sweat drenched face to face the applauding crowd and watched with disbelieving eyes, realizing how many people actually cheering him on. As a kid, he was always the underdog, picked on by his peers whenever he would lose a beyblade battle. But ever since he found Desrazor, he strove for excellence, surpassing all his rivals. He never revealed the abilities he had and seemed to be merely an above average beyblader who never seemed to get enough attention. Even when he formed his team, his comrades were completely oblivious to his true skills, as he never really bonded with them, trying to conceal his potential. Now he stood here, with hundreds, no, thousands of people chanting his name over and over again, finally getting realized as one of the most kickass beybladers out there. "Now give an even bigger one to the winner, Kai of the Bladebreakers!" But Kai didn't really care even if everyone in the arena, friend and foe congratulating him for defeating a nasty opponent. He felt incomplete without one voice cheering for him, the voice he wanted so badly to hear. He missed her. No matter how many times he tried to tell himself that she was all right, no matter how many times he argued with Dranzer about his feelings, no matter how many times he would deny his emotions in her face, he missed her. His ears didn't even hear one compliment Max said and one joke Tyson cracked, he was dead to the world. A tear escaped his eye and dripped on the floor, the miniscule sound catching Ray's attention. The Chinese beyblader stared at the insignificant puddle, realizing that Kai could actually care about someone. Kai brushed away another errant teardrop and walked away, not realizing the immense number of people cheering him on as he left the rest of the world. He walked into the men's bathroom and stared at his swollen eyes. For a while he just stared at his red eyes, puffy from crying. He shook his head and wiped his eyes with a towel, putting on another determined face as to hide from the others what he felt. Ray was standing in the doorway of the bathroom, one hand supporting him against the wall. "You like her, don't you?" He asked to his team captain who, for once, couldn't snap back at him. He pushed Ray aside and walked outside, hoping that he would see her somewhere. Ray smiled and closed the door behind Kai. "I never thought he could actually love. This day is full of surprises."  
  
End of chapter  
  
Pyroteknix: God! I feel so sad. Maybe this is a little bit too strange.  
  
Aerodynamix: Woohoo! Does Ian have some cool beyblading skills, or what?  
  
Pyroteknix: (Brushes tear from eye) Shut up. I feel depressed.  
  
Aerodynamix: Awww. Little Pyro feeling blue? This will cheer you up, easy! (Grabs flower vase and slams it on Pyroteknix's head.)  
  
Aerodynamix: Hahaha! Revenge is mine! Oh yeah! I almost forgot to give away a little bit of the next chapter. Kai discovers who kidnapped Dominique and is hell-bent on vengeance. Apparently, the kidnappers need a bit more certification of a win over the Bladebreakers and also take Mariah. And its time to start the Dark Eden battles! All these in the next chapter! Boy, do I sound like those weird after TV show people who give a summary of what happens in the next chapter! 


	8. Blood and Blades

Beyblades: The Best of the Best  
  
By: Pyroteknix  
  
Pyroteknix: In this chapter, lots of sad things are going to happen. For example, you won't find out who kidnapped Dominique in this chapter, which contradicts Aerodynamix's previous statement.  
  
Aerodynamix: How was I to know that? You were unconscious and unable to speak!  
  
Pyroteknix: Because of you, you moron, I was unconscious.  
  
Aerodynamix: Oh yeah! I hit your head with a vase. Sorry.  
  
Pyroteknix: But cool stuff is going to happen, too. First were Matt and Pyroteknix, second were Guio and Elektronix, and now the third BladeTech duo the Bladebreakers are going to meet are Dean and Aquatix! Oh, they also fight with Dark Eden.  
Max, Tyson, Kenny and Ray were eating breakfast in the dining hall while Kai sat away from them and merely sipped some orange juice. Tyson gulped everything in a few seconds while his teammates stared at him. "What?" Tyson said through a mouthful of food. Ray shook his head and advised the Bladebreaker to stop eating. "Last time you ate this much, you weren't able to play in the tournament. So, Tyson, I recommend stopping youe pig-like eating." Ray said smartly and Kenny looked at Tyson's face and, indeed, he looked like a pig. Tyson gulped the rest down and just stared at the 5 plates still in front of him. Kai walked over to his teammates and tapped them on their shoulders. "We fight either the All Starz or Dark Eden today, so train downstairs. Dark Eden is a powerful team and their leader, Marvin, is widely known as one of the greatest beybladers around. The All Starz are, as we know well, are probably our biggest competitors in this tournament." Kai said quickly and walked off, watched by another beyblader. After Kai was nowhere in sight, the beyblader grinned and walked towards Kai's teammates, his brown leather jacket swishing behind him. He stuck his hands in his pockets and observed the Bladebreakers for a while, noting the fact that Ray still had one plate of food left. He pulled out a cellphone and dialed a number, his eyes still watching the 4 beybladers. "She's all yours. If he starts moving out, I'll battle him and his stupid Driger." "Okay, see you later." The other voice said, ending the conversation. Ray wiped his mouth with a napkin and proceeded to get up as the man in the leather jacket warily watched him. "Hey, you!" Ray's yellow eyes turned to a fairskinned beyblader leaning against a wooden wall, twiddling with a light blue beyblade with silver surrounding the bit piece. "You're Ray, right?" the other beyblader said, Ray replying with a quick nod. The other beyblader smirked and got out a strange launcher and attached his blade to a blue cylinder where the ripcord was. Ray looked skeptical at the different launcher, noting the fact that it had two parts and what appeared to be a sphere connecting them. The other boy smiled as he noticed Ray checking out his unusual launcher. "Like my Spin Shooter, do you?" He said as Ray pulled out his own custom launcher. "Its not just the technology. The beyblader himself is just as important." Ray answered as he attached his Driger to his launcher. "Apparently, you guessed that I want to battle you." The other beyblader assumed and Ray nodded. "Yeah, I accept. But what's your name, buddy?" Ray asked the unknown person. "Dean." He replied and got a metal dish from a table. Ray closed his mouth and looked ready to kill. Dean ticked off 3 fingers and pulled his ripcord out of the unique shooter he held. The cylinder spun around the sphere, releasing his blue beyblade with unbelievable spin and speed. Ray replied by firing his white beyblade with amazing speed, slamming into Dean's beyblade with immense power. Dean's blue blade retaliated with twice the power of Ray's opening attack. Driger hit Dean's beyblade with even more force but apparently, Dean's beyblade absorbed power and used it in a far more powerful counterattack. "Activate spin enhancer." Dean's beyblade zipped around with amazing agility as a result of massive spin. The White Tiger bitbeast found it impossible to even touch the incredibly agile blade of Dean. The unbelievably quick beyblade released a giant blue Phoenix with smooth blue feathers with green tips. "Razor Spin" Dean mentally commanded and Ray stood shocked as the blue and silver beyblade attacked Driger from all angles, slamming the White Tiger bitbeast then zipping off for a second pass. Very soon, Driger began to stop spinning, obviously damaged as parts of it littered the metal dish. "Finish him off! Jumping Crusher!" Dean shouted and the Bladebreaker he was fighting watched in awe as Dean's blade leaped over Ray's white Driger and precisely hit the edge of the attack ring, splitting Driger's top. The 2 pieces of his white beyblade flew into Ray's waiting hand. Dean folded his arms and grinned at the stunned Bladebreaker. "How could you possibly be the World champions?" He said, spitting at Ray's feet and walking backwards into a shadow. Ray stepped up to stop Dean but the beyblader mysteriously disappeared in the darkness. "Crap, that's scary." Ray thought before shrugging and running of to meet Mariah. "Darn, she's going to be mad. I shouldn't have battled Dean. Now I'm so late!" He thought as he ran faster, fixing his hair with his right hand. He stopped in front of Mariah's room and heard what seemed to be a scuffle inside. He scratched his head in puzzlement before pushing the door open. Mariah was clutching her stomach, blood spilling out from her wound. She lay sprawled on the floor in a fetal position, her mouth twisted in a grimace. Ray ran up to her, lifting her and placing her bloodstained body on her bed. Mariah looked up at the visibly worried Bladebreaker and tried to talk, but only gasps came out. Ray stroked her hair and started making a temporary bandage out of her bed's sheets. The female White Tiger looked up at Ray with teary eyes as she held her injured stomach. Ray made a tourniquet and wrapped it around her wound, tenderly touching her face. Ray noticed signs of a furious fight as he comforted his girlfriend. A desk was split down in the middle, completely devastated. Someone drove his or her fist into Mariah's cabinet, a huge hole right in the middle. The assailant kicked a lamp with unbelievable force, snapping it in half. Ray's eyes flitted across the room and spotted a black rose, an inconspicuous letter under it. He left Mariah's side and picked up the note, sealed with a multicolored stamp. Ray examined the strange sealant, noting the fact that the colors of blue, red, yellow and brown seemed awfully familiar. He opened the letter and read the note, written in ominously red ink. "Ray of the Bladebreakers, this will serve as a warning for you. As you can see, your good friend, Mariah, has been, let's say, neutralized. If you want these attacks on her to stop, all you have to do is lose. Lose against us. Do not bother to ask Mariah who we are, my partner has efficiently made sure she does not reveal who we are. If, by some act of stupidity, you proceed with asking her about our identities, she will suffer. Suffer so horribly that after 1 hour, she will be 6 feet under the ground or in a lovely urn. Until we meet again, we wish you ill." The letter said, threatening Mariah's life. Ray kissed the now unconscious Mariah, pressing his lips against her forehead. He lovingly stroked her pink hair and walked out quietly, shaking his head. "Maybe Kai was right. Maybe love is a weakness."  
  
Kai sat inside the Blade breaker's room, his eyes closed in concentration. His eyebrows furrowed as he mentally prepared himself for the semifinals. He shook his head and opened his eyes, surrendering to his emotions. He gritted his teeth and stared at the ceiling, trying to ignore the pain in his chest. He fell backwards, resting on the firm bed as he blocked an image of Dominique being tortured by her captors, whoever they were. "Why do I keep thinking of her?" He thought and slammed his fist into the bed. As if on cue, a miniature video screen slid under the Bladebreakers' door, glowing strangely. Kai stared at the small screen, wondering what it was. Kai touched it and was sent reeling backwards as an electrical surge pulsed through him. "What the?" The Bladebreaker leader shouted in surprise, staring at the flickering screen. Dominique's bruised face appeared on the tiny screen, gagged with duct tape. She sobbed, her cries muted by her gag. A voice laughed in the background, taunting the angered Kai. The esteemed beyblader grabbed the screen and questioned the mysterious voice. "What have you done to her?" He yelled, his voice reverberating across the room. "Just the occasional punch or kick." The voice taunted and a hand slammed into Dominique's face, a red patch showing where it connected. "Damn you." Kai said behind gritted teeth, restraining himself from destroying the screen. "We just wanted to see if you really loved this girl." The voice retaliated, punctuating its explanation with a soft stroke to Dominique's face. She blushed as Kai found no answer to this, his jaws moving up and down noiselessly. Her captor probably smirked as he saw Kai turn pink with embarrassment. "So it is true. You do love her, right Kai?" The voice continued, filled with malice. Kai stared at Dominique's pleading eyes, his heart breaking at her disheveled appearance. The Bladebreaker captain slammed his fist into the screen, evading the mysterious voice's question. Max rushed into the room as Kai threw away the wrecked monitor. "What was that, Kai?" He asked, his leader replying with a "Get away from me" face. Max scratched his head and tiptoed, trying to catch a glimpse of the thing Kai threw away. "Anyway, we have to go already! Dark Eden pulverized the All Starz and are ready to fight us!" Inside his mind, Kai yelled out in surprise. "Dark Eden pulverized the All Starz? That's really bad news for us." Kai thought, absentmindedly grabbing his beyblade and launcher and running after his teammate.  
  
"We have a great battle for you today, beyblading aficionados! The new yet powerful team of Dark Eden, led by their illustrious leader, Marvin, versus the crowd favorite, the Bladebreakers!" Brad Best announced, spotlights simultaneously shining over the team benches. "That's right, Brad! Get ready for some ripping battles because these are the nastiest teams I have ever seen!" AJ commented, the crowd going wild over the two teams below him. Ray and his teammates sat on the bench, quietly watching their opponents remove their black shirts to reveal what seemed to be shiny black armor. The Dark Eden strapped on shin guards to their legs and attached a brown belt that seemingly contained their beyblades. "Check out Dark Eden! Man, do they come prepared!" AJ shouted again, receiving a strange buzzing as people started chatting about the strange armor. Kai folded his arms in defiance and hit Tyson, who was jabbering about how cool it would be to have gear like that. Kenny began scanning the armor and discovered there was more than meets the eye in the multi layered padding. "Guys! That's no ordinary suit! That stuff has power-increasing gadgets under them! The armor even monitors their vital signs!" Kenny shouted nervously to his teammates. Tyson patted him on the back and reassured him of a victory. "So? We have what they call skills." Tyson said confidently as the announcer began to read out the first pair of fighters. "Looks like Tyson and his awesome Dragoon will battle JC and his wicked Tislais, the Red Weasel!" Tyson walked up to the slowly rising dish, a replica of the pyramids in Egypt, staring confidently at his tan opponent who wore a red bandana on his forehead. "Hey Ray copycat! What's that bandana for?" Tyson shouted out and a paper ball thrown by Max hit him smack on the head. "Shut up, Tyson!" The blonde American yelled at his large-mouthed teammate. JC smiled evilly and slowly unwrapped the bandana on his forehead, receiving a gasp from everybody except his teammates. A huge pink scar traveled across his forehead, the remembrance of JC's only loss. "Tyson! You see this?" He said calmly, pointing to the huge mark on his head. "You see, a few years back, I played a beyblade match with another guy. He beat me up big time and my beyblade flew out of the arena, cutting me here." He said, tracing the line across his face with his thumb for emphasis. "I will never lose again!" He shouted as he pulled out his black and dull gold beyblade. Tyson flinched at this serious remark but did not lose his confidence one bit. He pulled out his own beyblade, modified again by Kenny. "Beyblades ready! 3,2,1. Let it rip!!!" JC moved his hands behind his back and to his waist like a Japanese samurai ready to unleash his sword. He flung his arms out of that position, completely reversing his previous stance and releasing his beyblade with tremendous force. Tyson jumped in the air and launched his own blade with his own degree of power, smashing a pyramid to pieces as it landed on the dish. The two beyblades zipped about, unable to hit each other due to their almost equal speed. After what seemed like an endless dance of two beyblades, Tyson started to unleash his Dragoon, ready to blow JC away. JC's eyes turn into miniscule slits as he saw Dragoon starting to glow and he rocketed his blade up a pyramid's side. "Dragoon! Phantom Hurricane!!!" The Bladebreaker shouted, his blade reacting instantly as a tornado started to form. "Now, Tislais!" JC shouted, his beyblade zipping down the slope and leaping in the air in the middle of the growing cyclone emanating from Dragoon, unaffected by the storm. "Hey! What gives?" Tyson yelled in surprise as Tislais wasn't affected by the strong winds and landed on top of Dragoon, drilling the white beyblade into the sand. Dragoon stopped the hurricane and flipped Tislais of its back, facing off with the black blade. The two beyblades charged at each other with blistering speed, ready to demolish the opposing blade. JC smiled coldly and raised his eyebrow, as though the battle was finished already. "Tislais! Reverse Spin Jump!" Tislais somersaulted over the speeding Dragoon at the last moment, landing behind it. Then, as the attack's name suggested, it reversed the spin and sent itself ripping after Tyson. Tyson eyes grew large at this technique, a bitbeast attack that didn't attack nor defend but place it in the position for one. "T-slice!!!" JC commanded and his beyblade responded by appearing on Dragoon's left, right and behind, constantly increasing the pace until there seemed to be three beyblades attacking Tyson. "Which do I hit?" He thought frantically as the 3 images got closer and closer to his stationary beyblade. "I can't run away or I'll risk getting pulverized by the original beyblade. But I can jump!" Tyson smiled and launched his beyblade into the air, bringing it down as JC's beyblade passed directly under it. Tyson buried half of JC's beyblade under the yellow sand, stopping it instantly. JC yelled in frustration as they declared Tyson the winner and him the loser. "Big words for a loser, JC!" Tyson taunted the Dark Eden player, sticking his tongue out. JC walked back to his extremely disappointed companions, Marvin promptly kicking him in the stomach. JC coughed blood out as his leader kicked him again, sending him to the floor. JC was in a fetal position, holding his knees as Marvin delivered another blow to his face. Tyson stopped before he reached his team's bench, angered by this display of cruelty. "Just because he lost doesn't mean you have to punish him!" Tyson protested to Marvin. The sadistic Dark Eden leader smirked at this remark. "We don't tolerate losses unlike your pathetic little group. We strive for perfection. When someone tarnishes our record, we eliminate him or her." Marvin explained, sending a chill up Tyson's spine at the word "eliminate". "You can turn around if you want." Marvin continued while Joseph loaded a pistol. Tyson covered his eyes and shut his ears as a bang echoed around the stadium. "You get rid of your teammates like garbage? Damn you!" Ray shouted from the Bladebreakers bench, his voice clearly heard due to the silence in the dome. Marvin stooped down placed his hand on JC's dead body, wiping some blood off. He held up his bloodstained hand and waved it at the Bladebreakers. "I really don't care what you think, Ray. After all, you're a fool whose vision is clouded by the girl, Mariah." Ray stood up in protest but Kai pulled him back down. "Forget it. You'll just end up dead as well." Kai said calmly, staring at the psychopathic opponents they had to face. AJ shook his stunned partner and woke him up from his daze. "Well, uh, looks like the Bladebreakers win. Um, Ray is up against, uh, Marvin and Tiblaid. Uh, right." Brad said slowly, staring at the limp body if JC. Ray smiled with gritted teeth. "Let's see if Marvin will have the guts to kill himself after he loses." Ray said and pulled out his beyblade, ready to fight the crazy Dark Eden leader. Marvin attached a black bracer to his arm, apparently that was his launcher. He attached an apparently normal black and red beyblade to the front portion of his bracer with his other hand. The tall beyblader walked up to meet Ray and his custom launcher, smiling with that cold face of his. He inserted his ripcord into his launcher as his Bladebreaker adversary did the same. "Uh, beyblades ready! 3,2,1. Let it rip!!!" Ray fired his beyblade with amazing force, ready to bring down this murderer. Marvin scoffed arrogantly and launched his beyblade, his arm as straight as an arrow. The holder of the beyblade on top of his arm spun under the launcher and released his black and red beyblade. It smashed into Ray's Driger with unbelievable force, cracking Ray's repaired beyblade instantly. A shard flew from the devastated beyblade and cut Ray's cheek, a thin line showing where it sliced him. Ray dropped to his knees and felt the blood from his wound as he touched the gash. Marvin smiled evilly at Ray, dusting off his hands at the simplicity of the battle. "Dark Eden must always win." Marvin said as he headed back to his bench. Ray went back to the Bladebreakers' bench, greatly depressed by his quick loss. Max patted him on the back reassuringly. "C'mon, Ray! He really is supposed to be really good." He said, punching him lightly. "Our team will win the next round!" Tyson finished for Max. Ray smiled a bit then closed his eyes, more focused on Mariah. "If they attacked Mariah, then at least I lost." He said, thinking positively. Marvin gave a high five to his teammates, who were watching the Bladebreakers with an obvious superiority complex. "A spectacular victory for Marvin, tying the score!" Marvin grinned at the Bladebreakers, taunting them with his win. "Next up are Kai and his Dranzer versus Mark and his Tisaiber!" (A/N: If you happened to miss it, all of Dark Eden's bitbeast's have something to do with swords. Blaid comes out as blade, saiber comes out as saber, slais comes out as slice and the last bitbeast, the one of Joseph, Tieje, comes out as edge) Mark pulled out his beyblade, colored raven-black and highlighted with dark green. He clipped it onto his launcher, a spring launcher colored jet black with a red tree on it. "So, they decided to copy my launcher, huh? Well, I don't intend to play nice and I'm in a particularly nasty mood." Kai thought as he prepared his beyblade, ready to battle. "This may be harsh for him, but I'm going to win and he's going to die at the hands of his teammates." Kai grimaced for a moment then quickly changed his expression back to a stoic and cold face. "Will Kai break the stalemate in the score or will Mark bring his team one step closer to victory?" Brad shouted, ready for the next match. "Beyblades ready! 3,2,1. Let it rip!!!" Mark pulled the ripcord but his efforts were shadowed by Kai's intense concentration and power. The 2 beyblades sped into the sandy arena; Dranzer bouncing off the debris of a pyramid that Tyson demolished earlier while Tisaiber skidded across the sand. The 2 blades clashed with a huge bang, sending sand into people's eyes. Sparks flew as the blades dueled, slamming into each other. Tisaiber sped up a pyramid and somersaulted onto Dranzer, almost crushing the Phoenix completely. Kai's blade wobbled for a bit and Mark used this to his advantage. "Tisaiber, Viper Toxin!" A black snake ringed with green circles appeared, ready to strike. "Dranzer! Get out of there!" Mark's beyblade slammed into Kai's, using the base as a sword and stabbing off a bit of Dranzer's attack ring. "Ha! All I have to do is wait until your beyblade loses its balance because of the broken attack ring!" Mark said confidently as his black and green beyblade zipped out of sight behind the remaining pyramids. Kai closed his eyes and shut off all noise except Mark's beyblade. His eyes shot open as he realized Mark's position. "Dranzer, Fire Arrow!!!" Dranzer shot right through a pyramid and blasted into Tisaiber, obliterating the black beyblade. Mark stumbled backward, shocked by his loss. He looked behind his shoulder, terrified of his angry leader. Marvin was spinning a katana in his gloved hand, smiling evilly. Kai blinked and held his arms over his eyes. Marvin suddenly grabbed the hilt of the sword with two hands and rushed at Mark, who pulled out a knife from his pocket. Metal sang as the two tried to kill each other first, one in self-defense and the other for a tainted version of honor. Marvin launched a kick to Mark's gut and followed up with a slash to his leg. The defeated beyblader knelt in pain, clutching his bleeding leg with a horrible gash. Marvin twirled the deadly blade above his own head and brought it down on Mark's skull, killing him instantly. Mark slumped to the floor, quite dead. Marvin spat in distaste and lifted Mark onto his shoulder then tossed him into their bench, landing right beside JC's body. He smiled at Kai then ran his finger through his sword's edge then placed his bloody hand on his head, staining his hair red. "Good match, Kai." He said to the apparently calm Bladebreaker, who really was disgusted by this horrific act. He turned around and walked towards his emotionless teammate, Joseph. "Joseph, win this, or else." He said in what he thought was an encouraging voice. His comrade nodded and picked up his black launcher, walking up to meet his obvious competitor. AJ gave a distinct gulp as he looked down on the bloody floor of the arena. "Um, nice try by Mark. Kai, uh, wins though." He said, breaking the hushed silence of the scared crowd. "Yeah, AJ. It's, uh, Joseph versus Max, um, up next." Brad continued, his eyes fixed on the 2 corpses inside Dark Eden's bench. Max was shook back to real life by Kenny and he walked up to the dish, trying to evade the numerous specks of blood on the floor. He stared at his grim opponent, a stocky, black haired boy whose beyblade was interesting mix of black and dark blue. "Prepare to lose, Max." He said, taunting his rival. "Beyblades ready! 3,2,1. Let it rip!!!" Joseph launched his shiny black blade into the dish with almost godlike power as Max really put the pedal to the metal, or to be more accurate, the ripcord out of the launcher. The blades collided, giving the crowd an impromptu display of fireworks. Draciel was holding its ground against Joseph's beyblade but the Dark Eden beyblader had more aces up his sleeve than there are cards in a deck. (A/N: There are 52 cards in a deck so if he has more aces than that.) He sped off, trying not to waste his energy in a futile attempt to penetrate Draciel's defense. He jumped onto a pyramid and revealed his bitbeast's hidden power. "Tieje! Night Edge!" He shouted and his beyblade opened, the weight disk going up and away from the base, revealing a mini-shuriken launcher. A dark mountain cat appeared, its roar signaling the beginning of the end for Max and his pathetic beyblade. "Fire!" Draciel tried to evade but the hailstorm of knives impaled the green beyblade, devastating it. "I'm not done having fun yet!" Joseph shouted and the projectiles became deathly black as Tieje raised the power of his ethereal knives. The already busted Draciel exploded, shrapnel filling the dish. AJ wiped the sweat from his forehead and announced the winner. "Joseph's vicious Tieje wins easily with its super powerful Night Edge!" Max pounded the floor and walked away, not bothering to pick up the smoldering remnants of his poor beyblade. "Kai and Marvin will battle in this tiebreaker round!" Marvin patted the back of his victorious teammate and walked up to the partially demolished arena to battle Kai. The Bladebreaker stared into the ruthless and calculating eyes of his opponent, ready to win this match really quickly. Marvin's pupils grew smaller as he began to formulate a plan to beat his adversary. He pulled back his holster to the top of his wrist launcher and attached his black and red beyblade, completely prepared for battle. Kai put up his silver colored spring grip and glared at Marvin, who stroked his bloodstained hand in reply. The Dark Eden leader delicately painted his beyblade's red highlights an even darker red with his dead teammates blood and grinned at Kai. "Beyblades ready!" Marvin changed his stance and imitated JC's samurai-style posture, gritting his teeth all the while. Kai kept his launcher directly in front of him, every nerve and cell in his body immensely focused on the battle at hand. "3,2,1. Let it rip!!!" Marvin smiled for a brief moment before suddenly reversing his stance, simultaneously releasing his beyblade as the holster moved under the wrist launcher. Kai pulled his launcher away from the ripcord as the ripcord zoomed away from the launcher, creating one devastating launch. The 2 black colored beyblades nearly hit each other but veered off at the last moment. Kai was obviously more focused on the battle, as his beyblade was merely a replacement of his real one, which got damaged by Mark and his Tisaiber. Marvin simply folded his arms and watched his powerful beyblade with extremely well trained eyes. He could see, not to mention hear with his sensitive ears, the damage or problems with uncanny precision. However, he lacked Kai's perceptiveness and adaptability when it came to dueling, a fault that worked to Kai's advantage later on. His beyblade sped away from Kai's Dranzer, avoiding its charges. But Dranzer leaped into the air and landed in front of Tiblaid, ready to attack. Dranzer slammed into Marvin's black beyblade, repeating the procedure until victory seemed imminent. Marvin's beyblade wobbled a bit, obviously off balance. Kai took the opportunity to finish off the battle and almost knocked his competitor's beyblade streaming out off the arena. Marvin smiled as he beyblade spun helplessly in midair, puzzling the Bladebreaker with this strange reaction. "The velociraptor was strengthened when it left the face of this planet and its powers were immortalized in my bitbeast. Tiblaid! Reanimation!!!" Time seemed to stand still as a glowing dinosaur skeleton rose up from the center of Marvin's beyblade and roared as a blinding flash filled the stadium. When Kai regained his eyesight, the velociraptor was sheathed in black and red tinted scales, its golden claws shining in the light. Marvin's beyblade suddenly came back to life, bouncing off the arena wall and ripping towards Dranzer with renewed speed. "Damn! How can I beat a beyblade that can revive itself? Its too perfect!" Kai thought pessimistically as he frantically evaded Tiblaid's relentless onslaught. "Kai! My beyblade is unbeatable! Perfect in both long and short range attacks!" Marvin boasted to his opponent, smiling cockily. "Watch this! Berserker Rain!" The Dark Eden leader shouted to his beyblade and, like Joseph's "Night Edge", it split open to reveal a set of what appeared to be missile launchers. Well, they weren't. They were far nastier than that. Black energy assaulted the area around Dranzer, completely leaving no trace of the miniature pyramids behind. Kai shut his eyes and left it to Dranzer to dodge the deadly rain. He listened closely, trying to understand what made his attack so precise and deadly. "His beyblade spins at incredible speeds yet still aims perfectly! Ian's was possible because the attack was outside of his beyblade, so what's the thing keeping its aim accurate?" An idea zipped through his mind and he sent a mental command to Dranzer. His bitbeast complied and zoomed right at Tiblaid, occasionally taking hits from the endless barrage of dark energy. It stopped inches away from the deadly beyblade and zipped off just as a burst of energy shot at it. Sand flew inside Marvin's long-range weaponry and Kai watched in glee as it spun around uselessly. Marvin cursed and spat on the floor. "So your trick is a second spinning mechanism. Clever, but not good enough." Kai said calmly but this was just one of Marvin's lethal gadgets. Dranzer started to weaken Tiblaid as revenge for Tiblaid's previous attacks on him. Marvin smirked then shook his head in pity. "You do realize I said long and short range attacks? Tiblaid, show him the Velociraptor Claw!" Blades popped out off the side of Marvin's beyblade, wrapped in an eerie black light. Dranzer was knocked back as the protrusions sliced into his armor, seriously scratching his beyblade. Kai groaned at this development and mentally commanded Dranzer to get out of there. His beyblade moved away from the considerably slower yet more powerful Tiblaid. Sparks flew as Kai made an error and fell into the razor sharp blades of Marvin's beyblade. He veered off and tilted accidentally but this mistake became one of the turning points of the battle. Tiblaid tried to attack him while he was tilted and his blades got caught in the sand, staying stuck there for a second or more compared to a normal beyblade. Kai instantly saw this and a plan formed in his mind. // Dranzer, rocket up that wall over there but don't go to fast, I need him to catch up. // //Hello? Bitbeasts can read their master's minds! I know the plan! // //All right then, let's go! // Dranzer went towards the yellow brown boundary, apparently weakened because of his lowered speed. Tiblaid kept a consistent pace and almost reached Kai's black Dranzer if it wasn't for the fact that Dranzer was in the air above him and he was stuck in the wall. "What the hell?" Marvin shouted as his beyblade dug deeper and deeper into the wall until its real attack ring began to grind against the barrier. Dranzer would have smiled if he had facial expressions but settled for the satisfying sound of him landing on top of Tiblaid, finally stopping the rampaging beyblade. Marvin stumbled backwards, stunned by his loss. He stared with bulging eyes at the victorious Kai, who was standing there, expecting him to stab himself for losing. Marvin's eyes flashed a demented red and punched the floor, cracking the steel and breaking his knuckles. The crowd instantly stopped cheering for Kai at the crunching sound of broken bones and stared at the trembling Marvin. "Must. uphold. honor." He said before he picked up the bloody katana beside his dead teammates. "Kai! I'll see you in hell!!!" Marvin shouted as he drove the sword through his stomach and pushed it upward, slicing his spine and killing him in a few seconds of excruciating pain. His limp head fell to the floor, his eyes still open and staring at the horrified Kai. Tyson promptly barfed on Max's shirt at this sight, the suicide too much for him to handle. Joseph bowed his head sadly and picked up his dead leader's body and gently placed it beside JC and Mark. He stooped down and picked up the katana with quivering fingers. He grasped the hilt with 2 shaking hands and looked tentatively at the silenced crowd. "I have no more purpose without my teammates and my leader. I shall go down honorably without suffering humiliation from the ones who defeated us." He said slowly, his eyes fixed on the Bladebreakers. He flipped his sword so that the bloodstained tip was pointing towards his stomach. "Dark Eden will never be dishonored!" Joseph slammed the blade into his gut, blood spewing out from the wound. He twisted the handle slowly, shredding his insides like paper. He choked and fell to the floor, dead. Everyone in the crowd bowed their heads in sorrow and those who wore hats removed them in respect for the dead. Kai just sat on the bench, actually pretty happy with the turnout. "At least I now know who took Dominique. They won every match they had so far, defeating the White tigers to clinch a spot in the finals. I'll get you, BladeTech!"  
  
End of chapter  
  
Pyroteknix: Note to readers: due to exceptional violence and gore, (Watches as Aerodynamix barfs on floor after watching movie version of story in their TV.) we will change the rating for the next chapter to R. That doesn't mean that the next chapter will be another bloodbath, though. I'm only changing it for this chapter.  
  
Aerodynamix: What! That's such a sappy ending! God! I liked the part where I barfed a lot more!  
  
Pyroteknix: Hey! I didn't give you permission to reveal what the next chapter is like!  
  
Aerodynamix: Can I please tell them about the battle between BladeTech and the Bladebreakers?  
  
Pyroteknix: You just did, brainless imbecile.  
  
Aerodynamix: (Throws flower vase at Pyroteknix) Hey! I resent that remark! I prefer "Idiotic swine" or "Moronic monkey" Pyroteknix: (Leaps behind couch for cover) This means war! (Grabs radio from pocket) This is Pyroteknix, I repeat.  
  
Aerodynamix: Don't call for your puny ant army! I have an air force! (Shows off a jar filled with butterflies)  
  
Pyroteknix: (Drops radio and starts laughing hysterically) Butterflies? Hahaha!  
  
Aerodynamix: Genetically engineered butterflies that carry the exact type of dust you're allergic to!  
  
Pyroteknix: (Skin pales as he remembers incident where he sneezed so hard the computer blew up) Run for cover! ( Scurries under couch) 


	9. Life

Beyblades: The Best of the Best  
  
By: Pyroteknix  
  
Aerodynamix: Ha! Kai did find out who kidnapped Dominique! (Releases butterfly air force)  
  
Pyroteknix: Darn. Hey, I feel all itchy and strange! Noooo! (Dust falls on nose and releases sneeze that demolishes couch where he is hiding)  
  
Aerodynamix: I'm victorious! Hahaha!  
"I've got to check up on Mariah! I hope she's fine." Ray thought as he ran towards the dome's clinic. After the battle with the suicidal Dark Eden, Ray told his teammates about the attack on Mariah. Kai, acting levelheaded as usual, told Ray him there was only one more team to go and they were one last team to go. Even though he and his teammates were all alone in their room, Ray wasn't leaving it to chance that BladeTech didn't know that he found out who attacked Mariah. He ran faster and faster, his heart beating at an unbelievable pace. He skidded to a halt as Mariah was standing outside the clinic, smiling at Ray. Ray breathed a sigh of relief and hugged her. Mariah pushed him away and planted a short kiss on his lips. "No hugs, please. My stomach still hurts." She said jokingly while stroking his hair. Ray returned the favor and pressed his lips against hers and ran his fingers through her pink hair. "Mariah." Ray said softly while staring into her eyes. Ray's eyes narrowed and he shoved Mariah out of the way of a falling man dressed in a gray and red ninja uniform. The strangely dressed person slashed at Ray's head with a knife, cutting off a bit of his black bangs. Ray grabbed the man's arm and twisted off the knife, simultaneously checking behind his shoulder to look at the recovering Mariah. He jumped backward as the ninja-like man threw punches at him, combining various martial arts and styles Ray had never seen before. The ninja kicked Ray in the stomach and somersaulted over the Bladebreaker, grabbing Mariah's cheek before delivering a backhanded punch to her face. "I should have finished you off earlier!" The man shouted, clutching her shirt's collar as he readied a punch. Ray's foot slammed into the man's face, knocking him backwards. Ray unleashed a volley of punches in defense of Mariah, crushing the other boy. He grabbed his facemask and pulled it off just before he leapt away from the 2. Mariah stood up and placed her hand on Ray's shoulder and gasped. "Ray, Matt is." Mariah said in disbelief as she stared into the sneering face of the BladeTech beyblader. Matt removed the top of his facemask felt his sweaty hair. "Matthew. Don't you remember, Ray?" He said, clenching his fists as Ray began to realize who he was.  
  
Flashback:  
  
Lee tapped Ray's shoulder as they watched a fairskinned boy walk up the road leading to their town, closely followed by the village leader. The boy shuffled his feet and twiddled his thumbs as Lee's grandfather, the village leader, introduced the shy kid. "Lee, Ray, this is Matthew. His parents are geologists and they're studying the mountain over there." He said slowly, pointing to a nearby mountain. "Our village was the closest place to the mountain so they decided to let him live here for a while." He explained to the future beybladers, who scratched their head.  
  
End Flashback  
  
Ray threw another punch at Matt but his arm was twisted and he took a step back, rubbing his painful limb. Mariah took a step towards Matt but was stopped by Ray. She looked puzzled as she wondered why he would attack them. "Why did you attack us? I thought you were our friend?" She asked and the beyblader laughed in reply. "Me, your friend? You're kidding!" He said as Ray suddenly realized why he was like that.  
  
Flashback:  
  
"I want to be as good as you in beyblading, Ray!" Matthew said as Ray defeated another boy with his crude beyblade. Ray looked at Lee and fell on the grass laughing. "You! You're too little to beyblade!" Ray said, rolling on the grass. Tears began to fill Matthew's eyes and he started to run away. "I'm as old as you! Why do you tease me?" He said with a small voice. Lee stood up and looked over Matthew's head, pretending not to see him. "Hey Matthew! Stand on a tree stump, I can't see you!" Ray and Lee started laughing again as he ran off crying childishly.  
  
End Flashback  
  
"You got really tall!" Ray said absentmindedly, forcing Mariah to shut his mouth. Matt's gloved fists tightened and he shook a bit. "See? What right do you have to call me your friend?" He said angrily as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a shiny shuriken. Mariah instinctively stepped behind Ray as Matt took a few steps forward. "My original orders were to kill Mariah, but I was weak. I couldn't bring myself to do it and tried to hide the fact that she was still alive to my teammates." He said while looking at Mariah with a mixed expression of fondness and hatred. "Why do you want to kill her? Why not me?" Ray shouted, protecting his girlfriend.  
  
Flashback:  
  
Matthew watched Mariah observe two butterflies flitting around in the air, unaware that Ray was watching him. Ray's eyes narrowed as he watched Matthew blush when Mariah waved to the foreign kid. He ducked behind the bush he was hiding in and began to formulate a plan for what his elders called "Blackmail". Matthew tripped over a root as he skipped back to his temporary home happily, oblivious to his surroundings. Ray grumbled over the obvious fact that the new guy had a crush on Mariah and walked away. Gary, Kevin and Lee burst into laughter as Matthew walked into the clearing where they were discussing beyblades and the bitbeast, Driger. "Hey, small fry! How's Mariah?" Lee said maliciously, emphasizing the word Mariah. Gary fell backwards from laughing and Kevin pointed at the humiliated boy. Matthew's eyes fell on the visibly pleased Ray and wiped a tear from his eye. "I swear I'll get even with you, Ray! I'll be the best beyblader ever and I'll make Mariah like me!" Ray laughed hysterically with his friends as Matthew ran away angry.  
  
End Flashback  
  
"You made my life a living hell, Ray! This was my revenge but I messed up because I couldn't, I couldn't. I couldn't kill her!" He shouted, his forefinger pointed accusingly at Mariah. He raised the knife and readied his aim. "But this time, I'm not letting dead feelings get in my way!" He yelled as Ray raised his arms to hide Mariah. He smirked and delivered a roundhouse kick to Ray, sending him to the floor and jumped over him, pinning Mariah to the wall. He gritted his teeth and slammed the knife a mere centimeters away from her head and took a step back, obviously experiencing something. Matt fell to the floor and clutched his head, screaming in pain as he suffered one giant headache. "What's happening?" He slowly reached for three black colored balls in his pocket and pulled them out as Ray got to his feet, fists ready. Matt threw the explosives on the floor and in a swirl of noxious smoke, disappeared. Ray rubbed his bruised arm and helped the stunned White Tiger beyblader up. "Ray. I didn't realize who he was before." She said, crying. Ray hugged her and brought her back to the clinic. "You need to rest, Mariah. He hit you really hard on the face." Mariah struggled from his grip and resisted going back to the room. She kissed him hard on the lips and he stopped, surprised. "I don't want to leave your side with him around." She said as she stared defiantly into his eyes. Ray smiled and kissed her bruised cheek, removing the pain that was previously there. "You seem to be better now." He said as he observed her face in mock seriousness. "All better, Ray." She said and the 2 beybladers passionately kissed each other as a jealous set of eyes watched. Matt watched them from behind a potted plant and his eyes burned with hatred. "Why did you get her? I deserve her more than you do, Ray!" He said before stepping back into the shadows and vanishing without a trace.  
  
Kai pressed his back against the wall beside the door to the training room, silently observing Guio battle his teammates for practice. His eyes made a puzzled expression as he wondered why Matt wasn't with them but quietly shook his head and continued the spying. The player Kai had never seen before, RG, was obviously holding out longer than Dean with his black beyblade that reminded Kai of a cold night. His beyblade already took several hits from Guio's extremely powerful Elektronix but was still spinning, quite far from losing. The BladeTech leader's beyblade seemingly slid off RG's as though his opponent's entire blade was coated in grease. Suddenly, RG's beyblade expanded and attacked Elektronix, who readily activated its magnetic field to deflect the charge. The black beyblade nearly hit Guio's electric blue beyblade but bounced off an invisible shield. Guio smiled and snapped his fingers, watching as his beyblade rocketed up the dish's slope and landed on RG's black beyblade, stopping it by slowly digging the base into the steel of the arena with crushing, but controlled, force. RG picked up his scratch less yet defeated beyblade and put it into the one of his trench coat's many pockets. Elektronix jolted into the air and glued itself to Guio's gloved hand, victorious again. His defeated teammate shrugged and Dean would have been next to battle his leader if it weren't for Matt. Matt, dressed in his flaming red jacket again, grabbed Kai's shoulders and shoved him inside the room, forcing him on his knees with a punch. All of BladeTech stared at him with varying expressions. Dean looked at him with mock amusement, RG with interest and curiosity. Matt glared at him with angry eyes as his leader stared at Kai's defiant face with hatred. Matt tightly gripped both of Kai's struggling arms and pinned them to his back while his leader coldly stared at his face. "Kai, how nice of you to spy on us." Guio said in a sarcastic voice, his hand waving to his teammates to come closer. "RG, take Matt's position. He should practice with Dean." The BladeTech leader commanded and RG grabbed Kai's arms just as Matt removed his grip from the Bladebreaker's wrists and walked over to the dish where Dean was waiting. "Why did you take Dominique?" Kai demanded, spitting on Guio's rubber shoes. "Why did you destroy that expensive little communicator I sent you?" Guio said in a high voice, irking Kai. The Bladebreaker made an effort to escape RG's iron grip but was unsuccessful in breaking free. "Answer my question? I know your last excuse wasn't real!" Kai shouted, referring to the screen where he talked with Guio. Or at least, thought it was Guio. "I only sent the damn thing, I had nothing to do with that conversation you had." He retaliated, kicking Kai in the stomach. "But I can take the credit for actually creating and doing the kidnapping. It was my idea to make you lose and suffer." He boasted loudly. Kai made another effort to get free but RG firmly held him back. "Why do you want to beat me so badly? You already wrecked my beyblade!" Kai protested and received a scowl from his nemesis. "It wasn't enough. I wasn't able to use my final attack." Guio explained, slowly stroking his beyblade as though it was a favorite pet. His eyes narrowed as he grabbed Kai's shirt and lifted him off his feet. "When I fought you many years ago, you completely defeated me and Retriel, my Golden Wolf bitbeast!" He shouted, spraying spit in Kai's face. "So what? I do that all the time." Kai said calmly in the face of the human lightning storm. "What you don't realize is the fact that somehow, you killed my bitbeast! After that, my obsession became to hunt you down and totally rub Dranzer out of the picture as revenge!" Guio said as Kai suddenly realized that if Guio still had Retriel, he wouldn't be using Elektronix. The BladeTech leader dropped Kai and signaled RG to move the Bladebreaker to a practice dish. "Dean, I need you to get one of the training beyblades with artificial bitbeasts. I'm showing our guest my secret weapon." He ordered and Dean nodded his head in reply while he caught his triumphant beyblade subconsciously. Matt walked away from the dish and watched Guio ready his beyblade, grumbling something about Dean having a lucky streak. Dean launched the pink beyblade into the arena, Kai suddenly realizing the fact that it was a replica of Mariah's beyblade. Guio's bitbeast, Elektronix, came out right away. "Elektronix! Surge of Destruction!" Guio commanded and even his teammates watched in awe as the electrifying dragon called Elektronix opened its jaws and fired a huge blast of blue energy, the immense beam sparking up while it headed for the copy of Galux. "Your bitbeast has an attack that directly affects the other beyblade without increasing your beyblade's power or something?" Kai asked in shock and awe as he watched the beam collide with the pink beyblade, disintegrating it and burning away the resisting Galux. Kai's jaw dropped as he watched Galux fade away, its pink tinted skin burning with ethereal flames. Guio held out his hand and his beyblade jumped up into his palm. He stared into Kai's surprised face coldly, his icy eyes drilling into the Bladebreaker. He snapped his fingers and RG let their captive go, ready to attack him at the slightest provocation. Kai took a few steps backward, glaring at his new worst enemy, before breaking off into a run. Guio sighed and tapped RG's shoulder. "One more battle. You're still too slow." He said and RG nodded as he pulled out a handheld computer from his pocket and began taking data about his leader's attack. Sure, he told them about it but seeing it completely blast a beyblade into oblivion was a different story. "Stop acting like that Kenny geek and get over here!" Guio yelled at his self- absorbed teammate and attached his beyblade to the magnet launcher. "Sure, Guio. Just a sec."  
  
Tyson ran up to his waiting teammates, ready to win the finals. Max waved back at him and patted the empty spot beside him. "Hey, Tyson! Let's win this tournament!" The American said optimistically as Tyson pumped his fist in the air confidently. "Yeah! Were going to steamroll them until they're as flat as pancakes." Tyson said, nudging Max in the ribs. Kenny noticed Ray looking exceptionally serious, his gaze fixed on Matt. Kenny tapped the meditating Kai on the shoulder and inquired about Ray's strange behavior. "Is something wrong with Ray? Mariah's out of the infirmary and he should be ecstatic at the very least." Kenny said, Kai replying with a shrug. "I'll ask him since you can't." Kai said quietly and faced Ray, who was digging his nails into his pants. "Why are you so focused today? You aren't even celebrating the fact that we reached the finals." Kai said blandly. Ray sighed and turned to face his comrade with a sad expression. "Matt was someone I knew before. I only realized it a while ago when he tried to attack me and Mariah." He started, his voice filled with sadness and regret. "He wouldn't have become such a demented person if I never teased him! Its all my fault he's like this now!" Ray said, unintentionally punching Kenny in the stomach because of his frustration. "I can't believe he became like this. He was such a nice guy before but now he's a madman who tried to kill Mariah." Ray ended with a tone of surrender painting his voice. Kai shook his head and pulled the gasping Kenny back to his seat. "That answers your question?" He said coldly before dropping back into his meditative posture, eyes tightly closed. "This is the last match of the tournament and boy, is this ever a wicked combination! The undefeated BladeTech, who haven't lost a single match, versus the world champion Bladebreakers whose record isn't nearly as impeccable!" Brad Best shouted loudly as the crowd went wild. "Because these are the finals, we plan to make this really special! Were going to give you a background on each of the beybladers and give you folks a sneak peek at the arena!" AJ Topper announced, receiving whoops of delight from the anxious crowd. "Yes, AJ, we will make this really exciting. The first players who are revealed are the first players to fight in the awesome arena!" Brad commented, as a giant titanium labyrinth appeared, the walls nearly indestructible. "From BladeTech come Dean and his cool Phoenix bitbeast, Aquatix! He is the master of spin and speed, rivaling the Desrazor of Ian when it comes to racing! But be prepared for him to launch a formidable offensive against you as well!" AJ announced, the crowd giving mildly loud applause to the obscure beyblader. "Tyson of the Bladebreakers is a tough opponent and his bitbeast Dragoon is even tougher! This guy is a crowd favorite with his freestyle and unorthodox way of beyblading. Lookout for his Phantom Hurricane or he will blow you away!" Brad continued and the crowd replied with a gigantic cheer. "RG and his dragon bitbeast, Chaotix, are a force to be reckoned with and are major threats to the Bladebreakers! He stuns his foes with a balanced approach to his attacks but really prefers to play defensive, waiting for his opponent to run out of steam. This crafty beyblader excels academically, winning various competitions around the world so be ready for him to throw some nasty strategies and tactics at you!" AJ said, alternating with his partner. Again, only lukewarm applause greeted RG. "Kai, who is widely regarded as the best beyblader ever, will definitely be more than a match for BladeTech with his Dranzer! His style of play is a vicious, quick assault on his opponent, ending the battle quickly! But this has been strained in his previous matches where his opponents proved to be worthy adversaries and really drove his patience to the limit." Brad said and the loudest cheer so far greeted Kai's ears. "Guio is definitely the one to watch as nobody here has ever seen him play due to the fact that his teammates win all three matches before he can fight! His dragon bitbeast, Elektronix, is supposedly able to rip through beyblades in seconds! But we'll have to wait to see if the rumors are true!" AJ announced, adjusting his microphone a bit. No applause greeted Guio as nobody really knew about him, but that was going to change. "Max and Draciel of the Bladebreakers provide the solid defense to Kai's blistering offense and are the rock hard foundation of their team. This optimist is reputedly the most defensive beyblader alive and will ward off any attacks thrown at him and his Draciel!" The All Starz clapped for Max as the rest of the audience did the same. "Matt is one hotheaded beyblader and his firey bitbeast, Pyroteknix, is no exception! Just try to get past his blazing offense and run the risk of getting burned to a crisp! Don't even think about calling him a loser because this guy is really on a hot streak with a perfect record so far, not counting his losses to his formidably poweful teammates during practice." AJ commented, receiving laughter from the crowd. "Ray is the last beyblader for the Bladebreakers but he is definitely not the least! His awesome Driger will put the fear of God into you with all around excellent skills and power. Don't get fooled by his quiet and sensitive exterior, folks, because this guy fights like a wild tiger!" Brad Best finished, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "Okay people, let's kick off this final round! Starting with Tyson and Dean!" Dean raised his arms and robotic arms that popped out of the wall took off his leather jacket. The mechanical limbs wrapped around him and glued him to the white wall, retracting as liquid metal spread over him and formed a blue and white armor that covered his body. He opened his brown eyes, as they looked through a slit in his shiny armor. "Whoa! BladeTech are pulling out everything now! Check out the wicked combat armor!" Brad commented loudly, his eyes bulging in their sockets. Dean felt the mask that covered his mouth and ran his metallic fingers across the joints in his helmet. He walked towards the confident Tyson, pulling out his spin shooter and predominantly blue beyblade. "For once, Tyson, I'll make the first insult. Do you really think you can beat me?" Dean said through the flexible mask covering his lower face. "Of course! I'm going for victory and I'm taking you down!" Tyson said optimistically, holding up his launcher and beyblade. "Dream on, loser." Dean said and readied his equipment for battle as Tyson did the same. Tyson was actually pretty scared of this guy. After all, Ray did say that he lost big time to Dean. But no idiot with a superiority complex is going to bring him down. "It's you who has to stop dreaming, buddy. I'm wide awake and aching for battle!" Tyson smiled and got ready to battle. "Beyblades ready! 3,2,1. Let it rip!!!" Dean's spin shooter made quite a show as it released his Aquatix with enough spin to cause a miniature tornado without summoning his bitbeast. Tyson jumped in the air and almost spun himself into the dish due to his extreme effort to beat Dean. Aquatix dodged Dragoon's opening attack without a lot of exertion. Tyson lurched forward as his beyblade was evaded again, unable to hit the blue BladeTech beyblade. Dean smiled and his beyblade zipped into the maze as Tyson followed his lead. Eventually the two became separated and were racing along different paths. "That's it! I hate this stupid maze!" Tyson yelled and his beyblade leaped onto the top of the maze's walls, skating towards Aquatix really quickly. Dean's beylade shot right out of the maze and pushed Tyson's blade back into the clearing. The 2 blades collided, Tyson's slowly nudging Aquatix off. Tyson smiled as his blade flipped Dean's beyblade into the air. "Phantom Hurricane!!!" Dragoon appeared out of the bit piece, roaring loudly. Dean's beyblade whirled around as a huge cyclone appeared, blowing away pieces of the maze and expanding the clearing in the middle of the arena. "Aquatix, Spincycle!" A huge Phoenix appeared and screeched in protest to Tyson's attack. His attack ring's edges opened up and revealed twin boosters in each of them. Aquatix spun furiously, escaping Tyson's windy trap. The rocket thrusters supercharged his spinning speed and threw him right at Dragoon. "No way! Ray said he was fast but this is crazy!" Tyson yelled as he tried to evade the blistering speed of Dean. Dragoon chased Aquatix but the blue and silver beyblade kept on dashing behind him. Aquatix slammed into his edge and reversed its spin instantly, attacking again. Dragoon started wobbling and its balance became inconsistent. "Dragoon! Get out of there!" Tyson yelled and his blade rocketed into the maze to avoid Aquatix's persistent attacks. Dean smiled and closed his eyes, folding his arms in pity. "You can't run or hide from me! Typhoon Spin!" Dean's beyblade spun around and around, causing a gigantic whirlwind to appear. Tyson stared in shock as he travelled around it even faster each time, the tornado growing larger and larger each and every time. Aqautix was launched out of the gales and was sent bursting through the titanium walls, punching through the material like paper. He closed in on Dragoon, ready to attack. "Finish him off!!!" Dean yelled and his beyblade blasted into Tyson's, sending it flying out of the arena. "No way!" Tyson shouted in surprise as he stared at the holes in the near impregnable walls of the arean. His beyblade landed at his feet as Dean smirked at the defeated Bladebreaker. "Loser." Tyson fell to his kees as Dean picked up parts of the arena that landed on the floor after he blasted the walls. The BladeTech beyblader fingered the piece through his metal gloves and flung it at Tyson's stomach, causing him to choke in pain. Tyson spat out blood as Kai picked him up and dumped him on their bench. "Looks like Tyson were given a taste of his own medicine! BladeTech sets the score for today's finals!" AJ announced as Kai stepped up to face RG. Cords shot out of BladeTech's wall and wrapped around the scientist like beyblader. RG closed his eyes as black metal covered every portion of his body, highlighted with golden streaks. When he opened his eyes he was encased in his combat armor and ready to beyblade. Dean pulled off his helmet and gave thumbs up to his teammate. "Good luck. They're stronger than I thought. That Tyson actually put up a fight." Dean said seriously as he placed his helmet beside him. RG grinned from under his metal mask and held up his beyblade. "I'll break that Kai's winning streak with Chaotix. Don't worry." RG replied and walked towards the impatient Kai, who was tapping his foot. Kai scowled and put up his launcher, ready to beyblade. "Hey Bladebreaker, you're beyblade's way too obsolete to put up a fight. Give up before I crush it completely." RG said blandly, as if this was one big scientific experiment. "Shut up and get ready. Kai said in his famous cold tone, receiving a frown from RG. "Well, it would be interesting to record Kai's loss to myself. I do lack that particular piece of data." The BladeTech player said and pulled out a launcher, unique in its design. A hollow cylinder connected to hinges hung precariously over the beyblade. RG pushed the tube down and over his beyblade, covering it like the muzzle of a gun. He locked it in place and turned a dial on the launcher. "I'm ready." He said after his preparations and noticed Kai looking at his launcher. "This is my spiral shooter, although it has gone through heavy modifications by me and has a competely revamped computer and ripcord system." RG explained, boasting about his technological prowess. Kai scoffed at the far more advanced launcher and pulled up his considerably powerful spring grip. "Beyblades ready! 3,2,1. Let it rip!!!" RG pulled his ripcord without much of an effort as his launcher did the work for him. Kai, on the other hand, really let loose with his beyblade as he lacked the technology of RG. The BladeTech beyblade landed in the middle of the clearing and stayed put as Dranzer tried to attack him. Dranzer rocketed himself right at the motionless beyblade and was about to pulverize it when something strange happened. RG's beyblade became more compact as its attack ring and weight disk retracted and became an almost perfect circle. Dranzer merely slid off its frictionless surface and circled the beyblade for another pass. Kai gritted his teeth in frustration as he just bounced off the unbelievably slick beyblade. "Other beybladers try to make their beyblades more defensive and durable by changing the material or adding balance improvers like Max's Draciel. But I have a completely different idea!" RG boasted as Dranzer slipped off Chaotix's smooth surface, smirking at the confident Bladebreaker. "You really too much on your gadgets." Kai said calmly and his beyblade jumped onto the top of Chaotix. "Science is flawed." He continued and RG roared in anger in response. Dranzer was able to damage RG's beyblade due to the fact that he forgot to make the top of his attack ring as slick as the rest of his beyblade. "Science is perfect! Just like my beyblade!" The edges of his black beyblade shot out and his weight disk unfolded itself. Chaotix threw off Dranzer and started to attack the opposing blade. Dranzer evaded this slam and positioned itself for another attack. RG smiled and changed his beyblade's mode to defensive again, watching as Dranzer skidded off his beyblade. He grinned and his beyblade opened up while Kai's beyblade was still sliding off his and watched as it blasted Dranzer into a wall. "You're flawed, Kai!" RG yelled and his awesome black dragon bitbeast, Chaotix emanated from his beyblade. "Chaotix, Chaos Hammer!" RG ordered and his beyblade knocked into Kai's with tremendous force, pinning the Bladebreaker's Dranzer to the titanium wall of the maze. His black beyblade tilted and began hammering Dranzer into the wall but was driven back as the Phoenix let loose with its Fire Arrow. RG's beyblade fired itself up a wall and aimed its base at the lightning-fast Dranzer. "I made this just for you! Chaotix, Black Arrow!" Chaotix roared and zoomed back down the wall, using gravity as an additional source of power. It imitated Kai's attack and held its ground against the Bladebreaker bitbeast. "You're a sorry excuse for a beyblader. Only Guio is worth fighting in your team." Kai said calmly as his beyblade unwittingly copied Dominique's techinque and flipped Chaotix onto Dranzer's attack ring, whittling down its stamina. RG sweated heavily inside his suit as he desperately tried to find away to escape this one. For once, he wasn't able to find an answer as time ran out. Chaotix fell onto the metal dish's floor with a clang, ending the amazing battle. RG picked up his beyblade quietly and plopped down beside a disappointed Guio. He took off his helmet and was greeted by a punch from his leader. "Now I have to win this. How could you lose?" He asked in a harsh tone that reminded RG of Kai. "I don't know. I probably ran more than 10 million possibilities through my computer; there were zero chances of him winning. My Black Arrow should have obliterated him instantly." RG said, stunned by his loss. Guio shook his head and for the first time in his life, unwittingly agreed with his worst enemy, Kai. "RG, I already told you. Science is not perfect so forget about your damn calculations." He said as he walked up to the dish. At the Bladebreaker bench, Tyson patted Kai on the back but his hand was pushed away. Kai closed his eyes and prepared for what seemed like an inevitable loss. "Max has no idea what he's going up against." Kai said rather loudly and the rest of the team stared at him. He noticed their puzzled expressions and explained. "Guio has the most powerful beyblade and bitbeast I have ever seen. He blasts his opponent's beyblade into oblivion. Max has no chance of winning." Kai said quite pessimistically, receiving an exasperated groan from Tyson. "Max can win this! He's been up against tough odds before!" Tyson said cheerily, ignorant of the truth. Kai shook his head and dozed off in the face of the excitement. "I have other things on my mind." Kai said and closed his eyes. Tyson groaned and watched as Max fixed up his equipment. The American watched nervously as Guio swatted away a mechanical arm and stuck his left arm into the wall. The Bladebreaker watched with amazement as the white wall rippled when Guio's arm entered it as though it wasn't solid. Guio pulled out a shiny electric blue suit of armor from the wall with an extreme effort, his face twisted into a grimace. He sighed after pulling it out and put it on with the least bit of exertion. In a matter of seconds, he was completely covered in his armor and walked up to Max. The perceptive Bladebreaker noticed something immediately. "Why are you still wearing your gloves?" Max asked honestly, Guio replying with a sneer. "Wouldn't you like to know?" He snarled as he put his arm in front of him and his beyblade and launcher shot out of one his pockets and attached themselves to his gloves. "I love magnets." He said as he prepared his gadgets for the battle. "Bladebreaker, get ready to be humiliated." Guio said to Max as he stuck out his shooting arm and took one step backwards, in position for the battle. Max activated his sniper grip and stared into the determined eyes of his competitor, hoping for an easy victory. "Beyblades ready!" Guio smirked and his grip tightened on the ripcord, completely immersed in the battle. Max's arms stiffened as his hand firmly grasped his sniper grip. "3,2,1. Let it rip!!!" Max shouted out as he fired his beyblade with all the power he had in his body, sending Draciel right to the middle of the dish. Guio yelled, caught up in the excitement of the game, as his arm completely flung away the ripcord, further increasing the great magnitude of power that came from his magnet launcher. His beylade nearly collided with the great force of Draciel but he immediately activated the electromagnetic field that was concealed within his machine. Draciel pounded on the invisible wall surrounding Elektronix but found it impossible to penetrate the shield. He tried to copy Kai's tactic when he fought RG but found out that the field extended to a lot more places than previously known. He sweated as his beyblade slid off the barrier and veered off into the maze, ready to try another tactic. Guio's eyes narrowed as he saw Draciel put on a burst of speed and zip through the maze. He shut off his defense mechanism and switched to speed mode. The tip of his beyblade's base changed and became a round metal ball, similar to Max's "Metal Ball Defense" except that this increased the speed. He rocketed into the titanium maze, noticing the fact that this wasn't pure titanium and was imbued with some trace metals. He smirked and pretended to get lost in the modern day labyrinth while Max formulated a plot. "Now Elektronix! Magnetic Pulse!" Elektronix shot up into the air and released a huge invisible blast that sent ripples through the air. It collided with the walls surrounding Draciel and bent them, making them collapse on the green beyblade. His electric blue beyblade hopped on the walls and spun close by to the wreckage. He smiled sinisterly and proceeded with the destruction even though the battle was obviously finished. He twisted another wall into a few hundred metal spikes and sent them raining down on the helpless Draciel, completely shredding the thing like paper. He removed the rest of the debri with another magnetic attack and made the hole- riddled beyblade hover in the air, before tossing it at Max's feet. "Wowee! Guio really wins that one and proves to the crowd why he's the leader of BladeTech!" Brad Best said enthusiastically, amazed by the power of Elektronix. "There are rumors that the battle didn't even use the true power of his beyblade! The Bladebreakers are in huge trouble!" AJ Topper agreed as a bell rung out and Ray walked out to meet his opponent, Matt. "Hey! What's this? It looks like Ray and Matt were old buddies from the same village the White Tigers hail from! But I sense some hostility between the two, looks like something changed that a long time ago!" AJ Topper announced happily as Matt, down below, submitted to the mechanical arms and allowed himself to be clothed by the machines. Ray looked at the floor in regret, wishing he had never ever done anything bad to Matt before. He heard the last snap of armor coming together as Matt strided towards him, his beyblade and launcher in his hand. Ray looked up and faced Matt through the opening in the mask where his eyes were. "Look, I'm sorry for whatever I did before. What he happened to the old Matthew? The kind and somewhat talkative boy we used to know." Ray apologized sincerely but was greeted by a cold sneer from within the helmet. "You want to know what happened? He died. He died a long time ago. And you're the one who killed him." Matt said harshly, pointing an accusing finger at Ray. "I'm going to bring you down so badly there won't be a milimeter of your beyblade left behind!" He continued, shouting in frustration. "You asked for it, Matt." Ray said quietly as his expression changed into one of seriousness. Matt's face contorted into one of sheer, uncontrolled anger. "Let's go." The Bladebreaker boy said to his adversary as they both lifted up their launchers and beyblades. Matt's fingers danced on his launcher's onboard computer and he eadied the nitrous oxide for his launcher. He gritted his teeth and glared back at Ray who calmly prepared his beyblade. "Beyblades ready! 3,2,1. Let it rip!!!" Ray almost completely spun around as he really let loose in this battle, praying for a victory. Matt was so entirely concentrated on winning that his ripcord was sent flying out of his hand due to his unbelievable power, embedding itself beside Guio's ear. Matt shouted in anger as the nitrous oxide feed kicked in and sent one hell of a boom through the arena. Ray stumbled backwards due to this huge explosion and rubbed his eyes. His beyblade was slowly being driven back by Matt's Pyroteknix, completely unable to hold its ground against the awesome power. His eyes flitted off to Mariah in the stands, her nails firmly digging into her seat as she watched in nervousness. Ray shouted out a huge warcry and his beyblade reacted by suddenly stopping Pyroteknix in its tracks. "This is for attacking Mariah!!!" He shouted, as his beyblade suddenly grew red with all the sparks their attacks were causing. Matt punched the air in front of him and shouted out. "This is for my hell of a life!" He yelled as his beyblade further increased its power, the two beyblades nearly reaching their utmost limit. "Driger! Tiger Claw!" "Pyroteknix! Trinity Flame!" They both shouted as the two blades zipped away from each other and suddenly darted back at amazing speeds. An immense cloud of smoke rose up as the 2 beyblades collided, obliterating a portion of the dish. When it cleared, the 2 were still attacking eahc other, determined to win at any cost. Driger finally escaped into the maze to cool off from the intense heat caused by their attacks. Pyroteknix blasted into the opposite side of the maze. After a while, Pyroteknix leaped into the air, frustrated and angry. "Heatwave!!!" An orange shockwave grew outward from the red and orange beyblade, ripping apart most of the maze. Ray's eys narrowed as he pushed his beyblade to the limit, making it bounce of the debris and head right for Matt's blade. The BladeTech beyblader roared as his Phoenix bitbeast flew put from the center of his beyblade. His firey blade skidded down the wall and streamed flames as it headed down for Driger. "Driger! Tiger Claw at full power!" Ray's bitbeast jumped out of his beyblade and zoomed at the roaring Pyroteknix. The 2 majestic animals fought madly, their silver blood spilling on the ruined dish as their beyblade counterparts started to fall apart from their intense attacks. The 2 beyblades darted away from each other and readied for their final attack. Pyroteknix screeched madly, flapping its burning wings. Driger roared and threatened the opposing Phoenix with its claws. "Trinity Inferno! Go, Pyroteknix!!!" Matt shouted at his damaged beyblade. "Ultimate Tiger Claw!!! Let's end this!!!" Ray commanded in response and the two beybladers glared at each other for a while before their beyblades slammed into each other with incredible force. Matt bounced on the floor as the amazing explosion knocked him backwards. Ray was blown off his feet and rolled across the stadium. The BladeTech beyblader pulled off his helmet and revealed his sweaty face as he stared at his smoking beyblade, defeated by Ray's wobbly Driger. Ray just stared in awe at his unstable yet victorious beyblade, in disbelief at the outcome. The 2 slowly stood up and stared at each other's eyes before picking up their motionless beyblades, Ray's finally stopping after a few more seconds. Ray walked up to the defeated Matt and held out his hand. Matt stared at his sweaty hand for a while before shaking it. "Good match." The BladeTech beyblader said quietly before walking back to his disappointed teammates. The crowd went wild and cheered on both beybladers, screaming wildly for both of the skilled beybladers. His ecstatic and amazed comrades who began assaulting him with congratulations and questions greeted Ray. "How in the name of God were you able to win?" Kenny asked as they all looked at his beyblade, already falling apart. "I don't know. Something surged inside of me and really pumped me up." He shrugged and sat down beside a bored Kai who finally finished modifying his beyblade, ready to battle Guio. Dean punched Matt in the stomach before spitting in distaste. Guio held back the angry beyblader and put on his helmet again. "I'll win this match and then punish you and RG." He said coldly and walked towards the demolished dish with his beyblade in his hand. He stared seriously at his opponent and attached his beyblade to his magnet launcher. "I'll give back your little friend if you beat me. That's highly unlikely though. It'll take a miracle for you to win." He said frankly and clenched his gloved hand into a fist. Kai gritted his teeth and readied his modified beyblade, glistening in the light. "Then I'll have to make a miracle." He said quietly and prepared to face off in intense competition. AJ Topper's finger slammed down on a button and music began to blare from the arena's stereos."Beyblades ready! 3,2,1. Let it rip!!!" Guio yelled out as he obliterated his launcher with his power, sending his beyblade blasting into the arena like a missile. Kai's eyes narrowed as he completely threw away his launcher and ripcord with the force he put into the launch. The 2 beyblades actually collided, surprising Guio. The BladeTech beyblader and suddenly heard the difference. "Bastard! You're using a rubber-sheated beyblade!" Guio shouted as the two beyblades slammed into each other repeatedly, causing huge sparks to appear. Kai smiled and held up his shoe, showing off the melted sole and pointing to his beyblade. Guio roared in anger and his beyblade almost would have entirely destroyed Kai's beyblade. "Attack mode!" He shouted and the edges off his beyblade's attack ring popped out for added power, surpassing even Matt's incredible strength. Dranzer was thrown around like a rag doll, constantly being tossed by the cannonball-like beyblade. It crashed into the black beyblade, ripping bits of it apart. Kai released a huge roar as he somehow found the power to evade Elektronix's next slam, sliding away from the electric blue beyblade. "What gives?" Guio yelled as he found it impossible to even touch the renewed energy of Dranzer. The BladeTech leader shouted out another order to his beyblade, causing it to change into its high-speed mode. It finally connected with the black beyblade but was knocked backwards by its immense power. Kai stumbled backwards in shock, as Dranzer was able to hold its ground against the far more superior Elektronix. A huge flash grew outward from the dueling beyblades and covered the entire dome. When the light cleared, both beyblades were glowing, completely recovered and reconstructed somehow. Their respective bitbeasts were out, roaring and attacking each other. The dragon Elektronix swatted away Dranzer just as it fired a blast of flames at him. Below, the 2 beyblades were knocked away from each other because of their mind-boggling power. Guio activated the magnetic M15 mechanism and fired the rest of the arena at Dranzer like a rapid-fire machine gun. Dranzer warded off the repetitive bursts of steel with its unbelievably increased speed and slammed into Elektronix with incredulous force. Elektronix crashed into Dranzer as retaliation and sent its opponent streaming into a pile of debris. Guio shouted out his final command and Kai closed his eyes in recognition of defeat while his beyblade desperately dug out of the piles of titanium. "Surge of Destruction!!!" The entire crowd was silenced as a wounded Elektronix appeared, unfolding its golden claws and roaring majestically. Its jaws opened up as Dranzer appeared defiantly, flapping its wings in protest. "No, go away Dranzer! Run before it hits you!" Kai yelled but his bitbeast sent a mental feeling of reassurance to him and stared at his master in the eye. Elektronix fired a huge beam of ethereal blue light and Kai watched helplessly as his beyblade disappeared under the beam, engulfed in the attack. He fell to his knees, in sheer disbelief of what had happened. "I lost Dranzer." He said quietly as Guio looked down on him. "That's right, Kai! Looks like I win!" He boasted but his eyes suddenly narrowed as he turned to face the rumbling arena. The smoke from Elektronix's devastating technique cleared and he watched as Kai's beyblade still spun, unaffected by the deadly beam. His eyes bulged at the impossible sight and he took a step back as he saw a golden wolf restrain his dragon. The wolf snapped at the dragon, no beyblade holding it back. Guio fell on the floor and rubbed his eyes, staring at the bitbeast he thought was dead. "Retriel?" He said in skepticism, blinking at the sight of the huge wolf. It roared and bit down on Elktronix's neck, causing the electrifying dragon to hide within the beyblade again. Kai took his chances and fired his beyblade at Guio's, sending his oponent's beyblade spiralling out of the arena. "No way! Kai is aided by a strange bitbeast and he takes Guio by surprise, winning the match and the tournament!" Brad Best shouted, reigniting the silent crowd. "But what a way to go for Guio! Those two really put on a show for all of us here!" AJ Topper added to the noise as everyone cheered for loser and winner alike. But they suddenly were quieted as Guio fell to the floor, limp, and so did his teammates, falling one by one. The Bladebreakers jumped up and ran to their rivals, checking to see if they were all right. A metal platform rose up from the floor of the stadium and a man with flowing silver hair looked at the Bladebreakers with amusement. "How utterly interesting. Tell me, how did you beat my perfect team?" He said twirling a gun in his right hand and holding an unconscious Dominique in his other hand. Kai stood up abruptly and was held back by Ray. "Oh, so you're interested in my captive." Tyson stood up from checking Dean's pulse, which was scarily erratic, and angrily questioned the unknown man. "Hey! Who the hell are you anyway?" The man frowned and shot at the ground in front of Tyson. "My name is Neil Arcford, genetic engineer extraordinaire." Kenny scratched his head in puzzlement and pointed at Arcford. "But weren't you kicked out of your lab because of unethical ideas? Something about creating the perfect human." The Bladebreakers suddenly stared at the unconscious beybladers and realized why they were so unnaturally skilled. He stopped twirling the pistol and aimed it Guio's head. "I also worked on mind control, for your information. Apparently I forgot to program losing into their thick skulls." He said and pressed the trigger and the Bladebreakers whirled around to see a hole in the floor. "Where did they go?" He shouted and frantically pointed the muzzle to Dominique's unconscious head. The crowd was still and silent as they all searched for the missing team, who seemed to have completely vanished. "Stop or I'll shoot her!" He shouted and the entirety of BladeTech appeared, crouched like tigers behind Arcford. The metal platform whirled around to face the beybladers, humming metallically. The demented scientist whistled nervously and robots appeared out of the metal floor just like BladeTech's armor. The robots grabbed the 4 genetic experiments and restrained them, 4 sets of metallic arms holding them back. Arcford whirled around and taunted the Bladebreaker leader. "I'm very impressed, Kai. Why don't you surrender to me and become like them, perfect." He said in mock admiration, pressing the muzzle of the pistol to Dominique's ear. Kai stood straight and looked at Arcford defiantly, his hands turning into fists. Arcford smiled maniacally and switched his aim to Kai's chest. He squeezed the trigger and a bullet pierced through the Bladebreaker leader's chest, his blood spilling on the floor. Ray launched himself at the crazy geneticist, flinging a punch right at him. A robot jumped out of the floor and knocked Ray backward, warping one of its hands into a sword. "Damn you!" Ray said before the sword was driven through his chest in the same area where Kai was shot. Max punched the robot in its stomach area, tears mixing with his sweat. The spindly robot swatted him away, throwing him to the floor. Arcford's eyes narrowed as he turned around and saw his experiments, convulsing with energy. "Arcford!!!" Guio yelled as electricity streamed out of his body and overloaded the robot holding him. The scared scientist fired shots at his creation but the steel of the robot absorbed the bullets as Guio used it as an inhuman shield. The robot of RG exploded as black lightning poured into it, decimating the machine. Dean crackled with blue energy and it zapped the mechanized terror, water pouring out of its joints. Matt's arms melted off the robot, his entire body up in flames. Tyson gaped at the boys he once thought as normal and watched as they threw off the robots holding them with amazing strength. Arcford fired more shots at them but all of them seemed to disintegrate before it could reahc them. Guio suddenly reappeared in front of his creator and delivered a punch that broke Arcford's nose, sending him to the floor. Matt jumped up with frightening speed and caught Dominique in his arms and laid her down beside Kai's writhing body. Kai opened his eyes weakly as BladeTech left them and rounded up on Arcford. He almost barfed as he heard the scream of a terrified man and then the sound of bones breaking and blood spilling. But his attention was diverted as he laid eyes on her sleeping form, stroking her long hair with his hand. Ray, barely able to stand, helped Kai up and handed the severely wounded beyblader to his uninjured partner, Tyson. The Bladebreakers surrounded Kai after Dean ran to the infirmary and carried an entire batch of medical equipment over to the injured beyblader. Before Ray knew it, he was strapped to a stretcher and was undergoing surgery by a kid barely his age. "Uh, RG, do you know what you're doing?" He protested as the beyblader/genius began stitching up his bleeding chest. "I only know how to sew back your wound. Kai's bullet injury is something else." The armor covered beyblader explained as he hastily finished the medical job. Ray stood up quickly but was pinned back down as Mariah jumped on him. "Ray! Are you all right?" She said with tears in her eyes as she hugged him in front of the rest of the White Tigers, who ran down from the audience seating. "Stop choking me first and I might answer." He gasped and she got up, blushing at her mistake and pulling Ray up. Lee walked up to Ray and stared at him for a while with peircing eyes. "Sorry." The White Tiger leader bowed his head and stuck out his hand. Ray shook it and turned to face an embarassed Matt. "Hey, um, I'm really sorry for the stuff that happened while I was under the mind control." He apologized and showed off a microchip floating in a puddle of blood in his hand. "I choked it out." He laughed a bit and scratched his head. "Guess I wasn't able to become the best beyblader ever. I lost to you after all." He said in an undertone, humiliated by the fact that he was under mind control. "Why didn't you tell us that we were hurting you before?" Lee said angrily at his former neighbor. "Uh, well. I thought she wouldn't like me." Matt explained, blushing and turning around to hide the expression. Ray laughed and Mariah kissed Matt lightly on the cheek, causing him to blush even more. "Let's check up on Kai." Ray said, pulling back Mariah with his hand.  
  
Kai was breathing heavily as BladeTech and the Bladebreakers tried to pry him off Dominique. He was pushing them off, trying to wake her up. He swatted away Dean's armored hand and reached for her as she began to wake up. Ray pulled him back just as Dominique opened her eyes. "Kai, we have to bring you to the clinic!" Tyson shouted as he grabbed Kai's protesting arm. "You're going to die if you don't stop resisting!" Ray said, gasping as Kai punched him in the stomach. More arms held him back and began to lift him as the Blue Passion leader suddenly realized what was happening. Kai made one last tug and he prevailed, his face landing on Dominique's shoulder. She hugged him tightly as arms wrapped around her waist and threatened to separate them again. Kai kissed her ear lightly before he passed out. "I love you. He whispered in her ear before Ian and Nico grabbed his legs and pulled him away. Dominique's heart skipped a beat as she saw him unconscious and maybe dead, his eyes staring vacantly at her. Arms trying to get her medical attention swarmed as she reached out to touch him. "Wait!" But the rest of her sentence was muffled as Matt covered her mouth and pulled her back. She promptly delivered a blow to his stomach and swatted his face, sending him reeling backward. Ray carried Kai by the arms as Tyson and Max, trying to rush him to the clinic. He looked back and stared at the crying Blue Passion leader, blood rushing up his heart. "Damn. That made me feel bad." He said as he watched her push away the other beybladers and desperately try to reach Kai. End of chapter  
  
Pyroteknix: Yes, it is a little bit messed up, but I was rushing a bit.  
  
Aerodynamix: Cool battles!  
  
Pyroteknix: The next chapter will be a diary entry by RG of BladeTech. A bit of a teaser about my sequel that will probably be humour.  
  
Aerodynamix: Wonder how many words this is? 1,2,3,4,5,6,7. 


	10. Okay, that felt nice

Beyblades: The Best of the Best By: Pyroteknix  
  
Pyroteknix: If it weren't for my faulty computer monitor and lousy left click, I would have uploaded this story faster.  
  
Aerodynamix: We did come up with a lot of ideas during our period of hibernation. We still have no idea on how to make a direct sequel to this, though.  
  
Pyroteknix: We do have an idea for an action story that should be placed in www.fictionpress.net! It has no connection to this story and revolves around what else but original characters.  
  
Aerodynamix: I'm still running drafts through my group of advisors. (Waves to Kikay and Bea) Yes, I do have a group of advisors.  
  
Pyroteknix: Wish we had more male advisors. Every time I write a fanfiction, they want female characters.  
  
Aerodynamix: Yeah, what's up with that? Oh well, enough chatting. To the story!  
  
Pyroteknix: I hope we get that laptop soon. Typing with an old model PC sucks.  
  
Aerodynamix: Ahem. To the STORY!  
  
Pyroteknix: Okay, okay. But I get first 2 hours on the net after this!  
  
Aerodynamix: Damn.  
Ray shifted uncomfortably as he and Mariah sat on one of the wooden benches of the dome. "Uh, after this tournament, we probably won't see each other again." He said, fingering a small black box inside of his pocket. Mariah looked down sadly and kicked a small pebble on the floor. "I guess." She replied and looked at him with sorrow in her eyes. Ray blushed and looked at the sky tentatively. "What I'm trying to say is, uh." He stammered, waving his hands suggestively. Mariah made a puzzled expression and tilted her head sideways. "Uh, well, I, um." He continued at an obvious lack of words. She snuggled him and Ray reached for the black box inside his pocket. "Okay. It's now or never. Mariah, um, will you marry me?" He said nervously while opening the small parcel. He glanced behind his shoulder and saw Matt hiding behind a small potted plant and whacking his head on the concrete wall, making an audible noise. "What did you say?" Mariah asked, blushing furiously. "Uh, well, will you marry me?" Ray repeated with a nervous smile on his face. She hugged him and kissed his ear. "Yes." Ray quietly thanked God and held her tightly. He looked behind him and saw Matt punching himself rather dejectedly. "Where did you get that wonderful idea?" Mariah asked with tears of joy in her eyes. Ray smiled and kissed her forehead while stroking her pink hair. "I owe someone for that." He said and pointed behind his back. Matt was silently inching towards the door when Mariah saw him. He blushed and waved before darting into the building. They both laughed and hugged each other firmly as the cool ocean breeze swept by them. "So, where do you want to get married?" Ray asked while Mariah happily put on the ring that was inside the box. She scratched her head and cuddled him in a very feline manner. "I'll let you decide." She said as she touched his cheek lightly. "You decide." "You decide." "YOU decide." Ray pushed her and pinned her to the bench. He kissed her a bit roughly on the lips and put a finger to her mouth. "Looks like I win. You decide." They both laughed and sat upright, facing the setting sun with their arms wrapped around each other.  
  
Kai rolled uncomfortably in the huge bed the clinic had supplied them with and grumbled as he hit a particularly hard pillow. He pushed the pillow away and shifted awkwardly in the white bed. Then, surprising him greatly, the pillow pushed back and made him hit the metal railing face first. He rolled around and punched the living object, only to receive another punch from the other person. The blow connected squarely with his wound and he let out a yelp of pain. The other beyblader sat upright abruptly and rubbed her eyes groggily. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Kai. Kai!" Dominique suddenly realized and pressed her back against the railing, slightly afraid of the Bladebreaker. Kai's eyes opened as he recognized the voice and tried to put as much space in between him and the girl. He put on a harsh face and stared at her coldly. She stuck her tongue out at him before they both realized a very disturbing thought. "I SLEPT BESIDE YOU!!!" They both yelled at the same time and tried even harder to move away from each other. Kai looked away, trying to conceal his reddening cheeks. After what seemed like an eternity of silence, Dominique spoke up. "So, uh, you said something before you passed out yesterday." She said nervously, trying to hide the anxiety in her voice. "God, why did I have to say that?" Kai thought, unsure of what to answer. (A/N: I cannot use Italic because of our stupid left click. I also cannot use the grammar and spelling checker.) He tried to make a snide answer but his mouth just stammered nonsense. He mentally hit himself and leaned against the railing before falling off. Dominique gasped and peered over the metal railing before falling on top of him. He groaned in pain as she hit his wound again and involuntarily rolled, pinning her below him. He opened his mouth in surprise and blushed as she did the same. Inside though, both of them were perfectly fine with the impromptu arrangement of their bodies. "Um, did you mean what you said before?" Dominique pursued her previous question, receiving a very startling answer. Kai hesitated, conflicting thoughts fighting in his mind. Finally, he took a gulp and kissed her roughly, savoring every inch of her lips. "Okay, that felt nice." He thought while the girl under him gasped in surprise. "Um, I suppose you can count that as an answer." He said while blushing uncontrollably. "Thanks." She said while hugging him quite tightly. Kai slowly wrapped his arms around her back as well. After a few more seconds of bodily contact, Kai began to pull away but was held back by Dominique. "You owe me for that draw during the first round." She said and kissed him on the lips passionately. Kai didn't even bother to have second thoughts as they rolled on the immaculately clean floor. They broke off, gasping for breath. Kai smiled and helped her up gently. "I'm going back to sleep." "Uh, I want to sleep too but there's only one bed." Dominique said uneasily and shuffled her feet. Kai frowned and rolled over on the bed. "You sleep on the floor if you want then." He replied in mock seriousness and buried his head in the fluffy pillows. "You wish!" She said before jumping on the bed. "No, I was actually wishing you would be choosing the bed." He replied and punched her lightly on the shoulder. Dominique crawled over beside him and rested her head on his shoulder. He snuggled her and began to fall asleep. "I wanted to tell you before. Your hair smells really good." Kai said quietly and dozed off. Dominique laughed quietly and bit his ear gently.  
  
You know, there are some advantages to rigging the entire dome with microphones and high-resolution video cameras with heat sensitive activators. It's also an advantage if you studied technology and machinery for fun. I wonder if I can blackmail them for some profit? Life is so much fun when you're a geek. I get free romance movies like this! Dean's getting bored and wants to head over to Japan to watch the Freestyle Fighting Tournament. Matt hasn't said anything for days and seems to be in an advanced stage of depression. Maybe this has something to do with Ray's proposal. No, I'm sure this has something to do with Ray's proposal. Guio doesn't seem to care about Matt's visible sadness and has agreed with Dean's idea of viewing the FFT. I'm actually pretty excited about this and hope to see my favorite player, Kaze. He aced the early qualifiers with his unbelievable shooting skills with his twin semi-automatic pistols. Besides, I like people who wear trench coats like me. Dean's a lot more excited about watching potential kills. I think that guy needs some psychological help. Anyway, Guio dragged a mumbling Matt out of his room and told us to pack and get ready to leave the island, our only home for years. Part of me is sad yet the other is happy. Change is a welcome thing yet it is also a thing that removes our security. Nah. I hate acting all poetic and such. Oh well, guess I have to stop writing now. I'll put in another entry tomorrow. Bye!  
  
RG  
  
End of chapter  
  
Pyroteknix: By the way, Aerodynamix will be handling my next story so search for his name there.  
  
Aerodynamix: Finally, I get to be the master! Hahaha!  
  
Pyroteknix: Shut up, idiot.  
  
Aerodynamix: Why should I? Oh, and thanks to Galux Kitty for reviewing my story! You were the only person who gave consistent reviews for me.  
  
Pyroteknix: Now for the credits! (Plays music)  
Writer: Pyroteknix  
  
Editor: Aerodynamix (Same person)  
  
Advisors: Kikay, Bea, Dom, Ian and Nico. (Coincidence?)  
  
Concept: Pyroteknix and Aerodynamix  
  
Cast of characters:  
  
-Tyson -Kai -Ray -Max -Kenny -Lee -Mariah -Michael -Erika -Dominique -Trina -Anna -Nico -Enzo -Raisa -Ian -Benjamin -JC -Mark -Marvin -Joseph -RG -Dean -Guio -Matt (Guess who I based this guy on?) -Arcford  
  
Thanks to everyone who helped me finish this story! BTW, I'm changing the primary thingy to Romance because I don't think beyblade battles counts as action/adventure. P.S: I might make the epilogue have a lemon in it but I'm not sure if I have the guts. Send in your feelings about this idea of mine.  
  
Email the author at www.maxgana@hotmail.com  
Life's stupidity is Life's laughter -Matthew Gana 


	11. Epilogue

Beyblades: The Best of the Best Epilogue  
  
By: Pyroteknix  
  
Pyroteknix: Uh, this will be my first and probably last attempt to write something close to a lemon. I don't have the skill to write a complete one.  
  
Aerodynamix: I will be so dead when I meet dArK bLaDe, Panzerfaust and flamingsword later. You hear that God? I'm sacrificing a lot for this!  
  
Pyroteknix: At least hell is hot. I like hot.  
  
Aerodynamix: Do you think we'll get our last wish our something like that?  
  
Pyroteknix: Nope. Knowing our friends, nope.  
  
Aerodynamix: You might get your name engraved for being one of the only male authors to at least try to write something close to a lemon.  
  
Pyroteknix: I think. Every other author seems to be female when it comes to this. I think "Pyroteknix" sounds funny on a gravestone.  
  
Aerodynamix: Yeah, they might make a running joke of my name and make my gravestone aerodynamic with all those curvatures and such.  
  
Pyroteknix: I cannot possibly follow in the shadow of the others but I shall try! (And most possibly fail.)  
A/N: I advise reading at least the last chapter of The Best of the Best before reading this or you might get confused with either the character references or the stated events. For the first part of the epilogue: If you can't stand the heat, get out of the fire!  
Ray was soundly sleeping on the other side of his and Mariah's large bed when he was shaken awake. He opened his eyes groggily and looked at a shivering Mariah. "Ray, I'm cold." She said while shaking uncontrollably. Ray checked over his back and looked at the airconditioning unit, which, as Ray expected, was evidently tampered with. He groaned and stood up hastily, ready to fix any damage their idiot friend, Matt, had done. "You know, sometimes I think that kid wants revenge for my marrying you." (A/N: Yes, he does!) Ray said flatly while tinkering with the device. Mariah shivered a bit and looked out their closed window. Ray sighed and gave up, plopping onto the bouncy bed for some rest. "I'm still cold, Ray." She said after a large sneeze that probably woke up half the household. An idea flitted through Ray's mind and he crawled over to Mariah. Stroking her long pink hair, he hugged her and warmth crept through her slender body. She turned around and kissed him lightly on the lips before cuddling closer to him. "Warm now?" Ray asked while he cradled her in his arms. "A little bit warmer." She said teasingly as the raven-haired boy tickled her cheek. Ray grinned and rolled over so that he pinned Mariah to the bed with his weight. He kissed her passionately for what seemed to be ages to them while they rolled around in the bed. "A bit warmer." She teased him by rubbing his back slowly. Ray trailed a few butterfly kisses down her neck, exciting Mariah even more with every connection of skin. (A/N: I actually have no idea what a "butterfly" kiss is. Heck, I see it in other stories though.) Ray stopped and stared into her beautiful eyes and laughed happily. They rolled around in the spacious bed like 2 little kids enjoying themselves. A popping sound was made as one of the buttons of Mariah's white shirt flew off and landed with a resounding clang on the wooden floor. She blushed furiously as Ray had a first class view of her black bra and watched him redden as well. "Uh, I'm really sorry, Mariah." He stammered while Mariah tried to patch up her broken shirt. Ray sighed and ran a hand through his black hair. "Guess I'm not much of a husband, eh?" He said rather dejectedly as Mariah smiled reassuringly. She kissed him lightly on his cheek and cuddled his chest like a little kitten. "You can make up for that." She said slyly, tickling his chin. Ray smiled and pushed her back down into the bed. "Let's put that rip to good use." He replied and kissed a trail down to her bosom until he reached the black undergarment. Mariah's body shuddered with pleasure as Ray hesitated at the clothing item. He made a questioning face at the pink-haired girl in front of him and she stopped, doubtful. But she nodded eventually and waited impatiently as Ray nervously tried to remove the item. She made a pouting face and took it off for him, making Ray take a gulp. He apprehensively nudged her breast with his nose and gently licked one of her nipples. Mariah grabbed his head as he continued with his actions, thoroughly enjoying the ministrations. Ray stopped and proceeded to remove his shirt quickly, mentally hugging himself for such a great idea. "I'm a genius. Yep, I'm a genius." He thought and tossed away his white shirt. Mariah grinned and pinned him to the bed, passionately kissing him. Ray's heart beat wildly as he felt her breasts push against him. Mariah rolled of him and hesitated before removing the rest of her clothing, completely revealing her body. (A/N: I have the guts. I have the guts.) Ray mentally punched himself to keep him from fainting and took a gulp. He pulled down his pants and underwear and lay down beside Mariah. (A/N: I do not want to use the commercial names for underwear. Sounds funny.) "Should we go on?" He asked nervously without taking his eyes off her. Mariah frowned uncertainly and nodded. Ray climbed on top of her and kissed her lightly on the forehead. "Not so hard, Ray." She said while firmly grasping the bed sheet as a brace. He quietly muttered a prayer and looked at her beautiful eyes before proceeding. (A/N: Lord, help me finish this.) Mariah gasped as tears started to well up in her eyes and she removed her hands from the bed. She gave another gasp and dug her nails into Ray's shoulder as he stopped, unsure of whether he should continue. "You want your kids to think their dad was a coward?" Mariah teased with an obvious effort. Ray laughed a bit and jammed himself into her, making her gasp even louder. "And that their mom had no pain tolerance?" He retorted and kissed Mariah lovingly on her lips. He continued, slowing down a little so that she wouldn't be in so much pain. After a while, Mariah flicked his nose with her finger and hugged him tightly. "'I've rode kiddy rides more exciting than this." She pouted childishly as Ray grinned evilly. "You asked for it!" He said and thrust into her even faster, causing her to moan in pleasure. He increased the tempo a bit more and suddenly felt her tighten around him. Her body stiffened in his arms as he continued, making Ray wonder if he was doing something wrong. "Are you all right?" He asked and hesitated, giving Mariah an opportunity to breathe in ragged intakes. She nodded slowly and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, biting her lip as she stared at him expectantly. Ray smiled reassuringly and kissed her before continuing, eventually engulfing both of them in pure ecstasy. Mariah's nails dug into his back as she screamed his name before finally spilling her essence along with an extremely tired Ray. (A/N: What the hell? Essence?) He slid off her, panting and exhausted and lay down beside a sweaty Mariah. She kissed him full on the lips with her arms entwined around his waist and stared into his golden eyes. "Now we're hot and wet. Great." She said in mock complaint and the couple laughed silently. Ray snuggled her and reached for the lamp on the bedside desk, removing what so ever little light they had and covering the room in a shroud of darkness. "That felt really good, Ray." "I love you, Mariah. Good night." "Good night too, Ray." (A/N: Ehehehe. I'm done. I can move again.. Gak!)  
  
"Finished!" A balding teacher shouted with a hoarse voice as students around him passed a thick pile of paper to the front of the classroom. RG tapped his old wooden table excitedly as Guio wiped the sweat from his forehead. The former BladeTech leader groaned as his teammate pulled out his notebook and took down observations. "Man, don't you ever stop studying?" Guio complained while heading out of the room and extracting his lunch from his backpack. "This is for a masters degree!" RG retorted while sifting through his bag for a textbook. The tan skinned beyblader sat down on one of the university's benches and munched on a chicken sandwich. He rolled his eyes as RG absentmindedly chewed on a pencil while reading a book on technology and mechanics. "Er, don't you already know a lot about machines?" Guio said while peering into RG's red backpack, filled with gadgets and books about them. "I still haven't figured out perpetual motion." His teammate replied and Guio promptly hit his own head. He groaned and got back to his sandwich as RG tapped his chewed on pencil thoughtfully on the concrete bench. He pulled out his unused beyblade and looked at it fondly. RG laughed and punched Guio lightly on the shoulder. "You know, girls can be as interesting as your beyblade there." RG commented, receiving a glare from his elder leader. The famous beyblader looked up while his teammate went back to his book. He watched the sky wistfully, thoughts running through his mind. "Life flies by so quickly." He said dazedly while memories of their previous career grew stronger with each second. RG stared at him for a while and decided to close his book. "Fading away like a passing cloud." He added as his former teammate smiled happily. "Going where the winds take it." "Then disappearing like it was nothing." The two friends laughed and gave a high five to each other. Guio shook his head and began to walk back to the main building. RG fixed his stuff and ran after him. "Hey! Where are you going?" He asked while running after his friend. "Life is more than a beyblade. I'm going hunting for a girlfriend." He said cheerily as RG laughed behind him. "Not unless I get one first!" He shouted back and picked up the pace a little as the wind blew by the dew-soaked grass in the fields, changing the insignificant plants' lives forever with one small breeze.  
  
Tyson swatted back a baseball at Max as the 2 practiced their game at Michael's new diamond. The dark-haired American caught the ball and tossed it back to the pitcher, Max. Tyson groaned and headed back to the bench alongside Enzo of Flying High. The other former beyblader patted Tyson's back as he mumbled something about striking out again. "I can't hit even one home run! We'll never win the World Series!" He complained as Max struck out another player on Michael's team. The blonde American jogged back to his former teammate as their team captain stepped up to the mound to practice. "Tyson! Struck out again?" He said jovially as his friend grumbled. Enzo raised his eyebrows and readied to bat against Michael, picking up a steel baseball bat. Tyson raised a fist at the overly confident batter and continued to complain. "2 more years before we can join the adult beyblading action. 2 more years!" He yelled and the other players watched him with slight fear in their eyes. "C'mon, baseball's not so bad." Max said optimistically and scooped up a baseball. "I'm heading to the bull pen so I can practice my pitch. You should swing that bat for practice." He continued and his teammate shook his head. He stood up and walked out of the bench, grabbing his bag and casual clothes from a hanger. "I'm heading over to the new Asian restaurant downtown. Meet me there." He said blandly and brushed off some dirt from his baseball uniform as Max shrugged. He watched his best friend run off to the bullpen and smiled. He stared up at the heavens, wistfully longing for the time when the Bladebreakers were still a whole team, his thoughts only interrupted by a stray home run ball that flew through the clear blue sky. "I wonder what Ray and Mariah are up to?" He thought aloud and walked through the stadium's large hall where some of their team's fans had gathered. In a couple of seconds, he was totally mobbed by frenzied baseball fanatics. He signed a few hats and pictures and pushed through the living, breathing ocean. He was promptly stopped by a portly man garbed in butler clothing who handed him a note. Tyson raised an eyebrow and tapped the man's shoulder questioningly. "For Sirs Tyson and Max. From Master Kai." He explained before disappearing into the crowd. He smiled and headed back inside the baseball diamond as his presence melded with the giant crowd of living beings, swept away by the tide of human life.  
  
Matt skillfully fried a chicken and some spices to perfection and flipped onto a plate, his eyes narrowed in concentration. He passed the delicious smelling dish to a waiter and watched for a moment as the waiter served the platter to a customer in his Asian restaurant. He sighed and checked to see if there were any more orders for his expert cooking skills. He smiled ruefully as he saw none and decided to call it a day for himself. Matt signaled a replacement to take his place and put on his faded red jacket over his Chinese cooking suit, which was covered in oil stains and sauce blots. He walked out while taking off his chef's hat and tucking it into his sports bag. Sighing, he noticed a picture that his teammates took of themselves after they were liberated from G.E.N.E and Arcford. He smiled fondly at the happy picture and walked towards his nearby apartment building with slightly moist eyes. "1 year ago." He said dazedly and pushed open the apartment's doors with one hand. He rode up the elevator and thought of all the times he had during that G.E.N.E tournament. Attacking Mariah, trying to kill Ray, helping Guio taunt Kai, losing to Ray and finally giving up and telling him to marry Mariah. He kicked the side of the elevator, depressed, and walked out of the conveyance with slumped shoulders. Sure, he had hit pay dirt with his new restaurant and he was more or less well known around the city, but he never really was happy or even just contented with his current life. Always being the underdog, the pushover, the loser who never was able to enjoy life, Matt's only real fun lay with his friends. But his friends had spread out far and wide and he only remained in contact with his wacky yet serious friend, Dean. He opened the door to his room and dropped his bag on the spotless wooden floor. Matt punched the wall and sat down tiredly, wishing he had never summoned those memories to his mind. He checked the video camera he had secretly installed in Ray and Mariah's air conditioning unit and watched the screen intently, throwing it across the room as the lights went off on the miniature screen. "I love you, Mariah! Ray's a stupid moron. Great. In a few months, they're going to be asking if I wanted to be godfather to their child." He thought miserably and buried his head in his arms when he heard a small yelp come from near his door. He raised an eyebrow, puzzled, and moved closer to the unknown object. He smiled at a small shaking basket and picked up a note attached to it. "Dear Matt, sorry if we haven't stayed in touch for a while. RG and I are currently studying at a university in Australia. Sending a package to America is costly and you better be grateful for our present! Good luck with your restaurant! - Your good friends, Guio and RG." Matt smiled a true smile and folded the letter, pocketing it as a daily reminder of how strong a friendship can be. Curious, he tapped the box warily and it shook in response. He frowned and opened the package, receiving a wet lick. "A puppy?" He said in surprise and wondered how Guio and RG could have sent him a pet from Australia. His doubts were forgotten as the small dog cuddled his leg in a very adorable way. He stroked its light brown fur and held it up to the light. "A girl, eh? It's not a Mariah but it's good enough!" He said happily as the dog licked his face cheerily. "Guess I'm naming you Mary, then." He announced and put the small dog down on the floor, at last at peace with the world that drove him into the ground and made his life miserable. "Amazing how the ball bounces." He thought optimistically while searching for any possible snacks for his new friend. (A/N: Note to Matt: That is what you call invasion of privacy and it is punishable by law. Stop bugging their house with cameras!)  
  
"Hey, Dean! Ian's coming in for the first place!" Nico said happily as he called on one of his fellow mechanics. Dean leaped up from his seat and watched the monitors with excited eyes. He bit his lip due to the intense race going on with his team's racer, Ian, trying to keep ahead of one of his competitors. "C'mon modifications." Dean thought hopefully as Ian seemed to finally get into the race by totally flooring it and gaining a small lead over his opponent in the exciting Formula 1 race. "Yeah!" He shouted and rejoiced with his fellow mechanics as Ian passed over the finish line with a few seconds to spare over the other racer. The team of technicians and mechanics ran to the podium to be greeted by immensely joyful fans. They cheered on their racer as he received the golden trophy and was sprayed with champagne by the second and third placers. Dean was lifted into the air as the racers went down from the stage and the race officials announced the best team of mechanics and the best head mechanic and technician. Nico shouted alongside Dean as their team lifted them up and carried them to the stage, celebrating their obvious and outright win in the race for points. He smiled thinly and surveyed the wild crowd below him and noticed 4 kids playing with their beyblades. "I'm going to be the best beyblader ever!" One kid shouted as his toy knocked his friend's beyblade out of the metal dish they had. Dean's smile faded as he watched the 4 young boys talk about their aspirations and play with each other without a care in the world. Dean walked down from the podium and longingly watched the children, fingering his Aquatix inside his jumpsuit's pocket. He smiled and walked up to the little gang and pulled out his launcher and beyblade. "Can I join?" He asked honestly and the little kids quickly nodded their heads. "3,2,1. Let it rip!!!" He shouted and people began to watch the complete amateurs battle with this stranger who seemed to be quite good at the sport. Ian and Nico laughed as a crowd began to gather and pulled out their own beyblades and launchers. "One round." Ian challenged and readied his launcher as the kids cheered on Dean. The die hard racing fans were transfixed by the two beybladers vying for supremacy in the sport, eventually shouting in excitement at the unbelievably intense battle. Ian caught his defeated beyblade and shook Dean's sweaty palm before clasping a hand on his shoulder. "You BladeTech players sure are something, huh?" He commented as Dean sheepishly bowed his head while the crowd cheered for him. Nico ran up to him and held out his beyblade. "I'll fight you after we go celebrate with the team at my place." He said blandly as a man dressed like a butler walked up to them. "Message for Sirs Dean, Ian and Nico. From Master Kai." The man said before handing the note and walking into the parking lot to enter a limousine. Ian raised an eyebrow and looked at the letter with curious green eyes. "What could this be about?"  
  
2 weeks later.  
Two guards greeted Ray as he and Mariah nervously entered what appeared to be Kai's mansion home. He gasped in evident awe at the huge hall where what appeared to be everyone he knew talking and eating with each other. He sat down as Mariah walked off to check out what was once a full buffet table. (A/N: Tyson is in the house.) Max ran up to him and sat down beside his old teammate and began to chat with him. "Ray! How have you been doing, buddy?" "Uh, quite good." He replied softly as he thought about his night with his wife. "Tyson and me are quite the stars now! We've got almost as much fans as Michael does!" Max said excitedly while pointing to a picture of the jubilant baseball team that won the World Series. Ray laughed and clapped his old friend's shoulder as they discussed casual and serious matters. The black haired Chinese rolled his eyes however as he noticed Matt stammering nonsense and trying to continue a decent conversation with Mariah while nervously stroking his puppy, Mary. "When will he get over his crush?" He said tiredly and Max shook his head sadly. "He needs psychological help." He was about to continue but was interrupted as Tyson sat down on the expensive looking chair beside them. "You guys have any idea what this is about?" The gluttonous Bladebreaker asked and his former teammates replied with a shrug. "I have no idea. Hey, did you watch the F1 race last week?" Max asked excitedly and began to narrate the strange event to his teammates. "Dean and Ian had no idea their battle was still taped!" He finished, receiving quite a bit of laughter from his friends. "I heard that." Dean said grumpily from the other group of chairs where he was talking with an obviously tanned Guio. Ray laughed a bit more and stared at the flight of stairs that led to the second floor of Kai's immense house. "I wonder what he's doing up there?" He thought as his other friends chatted happily in the midst of the party.  
  
Dominique brushed her hair and looked in the mirror worriedly as she prepared to meet their old friends at Kai's and her surprise engagement party. She frowned and flicked stray dust off her new gown and sighed uncomfortably. She had absolutely no idea that Kai was this rich and that she would be dressing like a queen when she stayed with him. Her thoughts were interrupted as hands wrapped around her waist and a kiss was planted on her ear. "Kai." She said in mock annoyance as the former beyblade champion rested his face on her shoulder and caressed her face adoringly. "Something wrong?" Kai asked caringly as the one he loved smiled nervously. He looked into the doubtful eyes of hers and stroked her long hair. "C'mon, tell me." He said impatiently and hugged her from behind. "I'm worried, Kai. Getting engaged to a guy like you who has all the money he would ever need is sort of troubling for me." She confessed and Kai frowned in response. But he changed expressions faster than a chameleon changes color and smiled reassuringly. "You feel worried because I'm rich?" He said in slight disbelief. Dominique sighed and touched his cheek lovingly. "I'm worried you'll get rid of me after a while because you can have anything you want." She said truthfully and Kai was taken aback for a while, unsure of what to say. Deciding against saying anything at all, he kissed her passionately on the lips and stroked her face gently. "I'd kill myself if I did that." He said seriously and nuzzled her nose with his own. Dominique smiled and hugged his more or less muscular body. He looked at her with a thin smile and carried her out of the chair, dropping her on the bed. "Let's go out and meet our friends." He said and kissed her lightly on the forehead.  
  
"Ladies and gentlemen, Master Kai and his fiancée, Dominique." Another butler announced officially as the crowd remained silent for a few seconds, stunned by the announcement. Tyson looked around nervously and was the first one to clap, igniting a rain of applause from the crowd as Dominique stepped down the stairs hand in hand with Kai. The Bladebreakers clapped furiously for their apparently apprehensive leader as he reached the first floor and all of his old friends. Mariah walked up to a blushing Dominique and began to chat with her as the Bladebreakers walked up to Kai. He put on his coldest face and pretended to be composed, frequently glancing at his beet red girlfriend. He scanned the entire room and saw many old friends and allies who had come to his spacious home. Erika, Trina and Anna, all happily jumping for joy and waving at their former team leader. RG and Ian, waving happily at him while Matt patted his dog and smiled back at them. Nico clapping beside Dean and Benjamin, who had suffered a broken arm from a fall while horseback riding. Guio who stared at him and Dominique with a thin yet happy smile and Enzo, sipping a drink and waving back at him. Raisa and Michael cheering them on as Emily smiled from above her tennis magazine. "Guess me and you have lots of responsibilities from now on." Ray said while patting him on the back. "Yeah, lucky dog." Tyson said while pretending to sulk. Max laughed and punched Kai lightly on the shoulder. "Make us uncles, Kai! It would be interesting to have nephews!" He joked and Kai blushed hotly as he thought about the idea. "Aw, c'mon. Can't you take a little teasing?" Ray said as his former teammate cast an embarrassed glance at his fiancée. "Uh, I'm not sure I want to be a father just yet." He said quietly, shuffling his feet. Tyson rolled his eyes and acted like a small version of Kai. "Good thing too or we'd be stuck babysitting the demon child, Kai Jr!" He joked and received a glare from Kai, visibly embarrassed by their remarks. He stared at the one he loved for a while and looked out the wide windows of his mansion. A shooting star fell darted through the beautiful night sky as the full moon shined above the house. "Life will be changing for all of us." He said absentmindedly and resumed the talk with his friends. However far away the topic was from becoming a father, Kai's mind focused on the possibility of having a child. He may have heard but he did not listen to his excited friends and instead focused his vision on his blushing fiancée. "I'm going upstairs for a while. Enjoy the refreshments." He said and started up the stairs, Dominique following his movements with her eyes. She excused herself and ran up to catch up with him.  
  
Kai sat down on the large bed and closed his eyes meditatively. Dominique snuggled his chest and looked up at him questioningly. "Kai?" She asked and he stroked her hair caringly. "Um, how would you like to be a, uh, mother?" He said sheepishly and scratched his head. Dominique blushed and sat stiffly beside him. "I never really thought about the fact that when I marry you, I'll probably become a father." Kai explained while staring at the floor. He wrapped an arm around Dominique's shoulder and smiled reassuringly. "I'm not going to force you anyway." He said, noting his fiancée's slightly fearful look. She smiled as Kai flicked his tongue on her ear. She cuddled him and poked his cheek playfully. Dominique pushed him onto the bed and kissed him passionately, smiling evilly as she stopped Kai from getting away. "Dominique!" He yelled in mock irritation. Dominique hesitated for a moment and that left Kai a very valuable opening. Utilizing his judo skills, he flipped her and traded positions in an instant. Dominique gasped as the sudden burden of carrying Kai's weight was dropped on her. He grinned and trailed kisses down her neck. "If I do become a mommy, I name our child." She said seriously and held up her forefinger. Kai smiled maliciously and slowly rubbed her bosom, causing her to moan at the new sensation. "God! Kai!" She yelled and reflexively pulled him closer to her, slightly strangling him. "Sure, you can name our kid." He said teasingly while slowly trailing kisses down from her ear to her chest.  
  
Tyson groaned and clutched his stomach, his weary eyes searching for a rest room. He walked over to a butler and the servant pointed towards the upper floor. "Thanks." Tyson said with an obvious effort before slowly proceeding up the stairs. He swayed back and forth due to his sick stomach and walked dazedly towards the bathroom right after Kai's room. "Kai!" He stopped and was snapped back to reality (Oh, there goes gravity! I love that!) as he heard a muffled female voice shout. He heard a stifled gasp from within Kai's quarters and pressed his ears against the wall. His eyes nearly popped in surprise at what he was hearing and he bolted down the stairs faster than a rabbit being chased by a fox. He reached Ray, who was engaged in a serious conversation with Mariah, and Max, whispering something funny in Emily's ear. He moved his jaws up and down and frantically pointed at Kai's room and made gestures involving his ear and a wall. Ray grabbed Tyson's shoulders and shook him back to his normal self. "Just listen." He panted for air, exhausted by his efforts to tell them what was going on. Max's ears immediately pinpointed a foreign sound that definitely didn't come from the ongoing party. Mariah gasped as she realized what the sounds meant and looked at the dumbfounded Ray meaningfully. She groaned as her husband raised his eyebrow stupidly and grabbed his shoulder, making him lean closer to her. Ray reeled backward as Mariah explained the sounds and rushed up the stairs with his friends trailing him. "Not so hard, Kai." He heard and took a gulp as their thoughts were confirmed. "Kai, Kai. KAI!!!" That last shout was enough to get everybody's attention and soon enough, everybody had their ears pressed against the wall of the room. Ray nudged Tyson and glared at him as a signal. Tyson made a puzzled expression and Ray whacked him on the head. The overly gluttonous beyblader nodded in enlightenment and rapped his knuckles on the wall. "Kai, if you want to have sex, get sound proof walls." He commented snidely and the entire group burst into laughter. They laughed harder as they heard Kai's voice distinctly mutter an expletive in the sheer shock of the event. "Aw, go on. Free romance movies! Over here!" He added and turned around as he watched Dean accidentally bounce down the stairs after laughing too hard. Matt promptly stood up and chased his friend, tripping and landing face first on the floor. Tears fell from Mariah's eyes as she made an effort to still look composed in the face of all the live and unplanned comedy, laughing like crazy beside Ray. Kai opened the door, barely revealing his head, and stared back at all of his friends and blushing profusely. "We'll be right there. Dominique and I just need to get, uh, dressed again." He replied and the crowd burst into another fit of laughter. Kai bit his lip and closed the door quickly, visibly embarrassed. Ian stood up and yelled at the wall. "Hey, Kai! Can we borrow the security cameras' tapes? It's been a while since I watched some X-rated movies!" He shouted and ran down the stairs with his former teammates running after him. Trina tapped the wall and shouted for her elder sister to hear. "Hey! Mom said you can't do stuff like that until you're married!" She said accusingly and heard an audible "Oh no! I forgot about that!" in response. After a few long minutes of laughter, Kai finally appeared out of the room with Dominique hiding behind him. She waved tentatively to her angry looking little sister and blushed profusely. Ian ran back up the stairs with slumped shoulders. He made an angry expression and glared at Kai comically. "You didn't have to tape paper over the cameras. Spoilsport." He complained childishly as Kai desperately combed his messed up hair with a brush. "Note to self: Tyson is not always wrong. Install sound proof walls before reunion next year." Kai thought while looking over his crouched friends, all of them laughing like crazy. "Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" RG chanted and soon the entire group of once famous beybladers was clamoring for the couple to kiss. Kai looked apprehensively at Dominique and stared at her with questioning eyes. "In front of them?" She said rather nervously and Kai rolled his eyes. "Forget it." He said before planting one, long, deep kiss on her lips and ran his hands through her hair as she melted away in his hands. He broke off and looked away as Tyson cheered madly, avoiding more embarrassment. Matt rubbed his head and hit himself on the forehead in comical depression. "I really need to get one of those." He said as everybody else laughed at his truthful yet witty remark. Kai smiled and listened to all of his old friends enjoying each other's company and laughing with their old enemies. "And she's still sleeping over tonight! Nothing could get better than this!" Dean fell down the stairs again due to his hysterical laughter but grabbed onto Guio's shirt before sliding downwards. Guio shouted in surprise and clutched Erika's skirt, causing her to slap him yet falls as well. She firmly gripped Tyson's shirt and watched in amazement as a chain reaction occurred and soon everyone was piled up in the middle of the mansion's first floor. "Help." They heard Dean groan and laughed as he wriggled underneath the immense pile of human beings happily living life to the fullest. "Punish self for being wrong again. It just got better."  
End of Story  
  
And that's it for The Best of the Best! Hope you enjoyed it and continue to look out for my works! I have a tragic idea for a sequel but I need to stretch my action/adventure arms once more and continue with my idea for an all-out action story. You can email me about your opinion on this of course. - Pyroteknix  
  
Email the author at maxgana@hotmail.com but don't send me junk mail!  
  
Pyroteknix: (Clearing desk) We're getting rid of all our old drafts and such before we start on the sequel or the new story in www.fictionpress.net.  
  
Aerodynamix: Hey! Look at the drawing I made of the characters!  
  
Pyroteknix: It sucks! You can't even color in the lines!  
  
Aerodynamix: So what? Can you draw at all?  
  
Pyroteknix: Er, no. I already explained that I am the most artistically challenged person in the world.  
  
Aerodynamix: You're also going to become vision impaired if you spend so much time on the computer. But what the hell, nobody cares if we wear glasses anyway!  
  
Pyroteknix: (Raises glass of coke) To commercialism!  
  
Aerodynamix: To comm. What?  
  
Pyroteknix: Heck, it sounded nice for a toast.  
  
Aerodynamix: How about: "To all our good friends and reviewers who happened to support us even though we weren't sure if we should continue"?  
  
Pyroteknix: Too long. I remember a movie we watched called "The Fiddler on the Roof". They had some type of toast phrase there.  
  
Aerodynamix: I know what that was! (Raises glass) To life!  
  
Pyroteknix: (Dumps drink on Aerodynamix) To life! Hahaha!  
  
Aerodynamix: Come back here you good for nothing alter ego!  
  
Pyroteknix: Adios amigos! Adios Galux Kitty! Adios dArK bLaDe! Adios Panzerfaust! Adios flamingsword! **THUD**  
  
Aerodynamix: Third time he's whacked his head on that overly low door. Adios Pyroteknix! (Carries unconscious alter ego out of room while waving)  
  
Pyroteknix: (Suddenly jolts awake.) Hey that wasn't so bad for me! I can write lemons! (Whacks head on wall twice.) No! Must not give in to the dark side! Must not give in! What the hell, I'll make a decision after we get the secret ending of Kingdom Hearts.  
  
Aerodynamix: Shaddup you moron. It is impossible to beat Sephiroth. He is invincible!  
  
Pyroteknix: Nooooo! Damn. I so wanted to prove that I could beat him. How about Ice Titan? Is he invincible?  
  
Aerodynamix: (Drops Pyroteknix on floor and shuffles through papers.) Hmm. Yep! It is possible to beat him. Unfortunately, your current level and amount of skill is lower than the recommended statistics required to beat 'em.  
  
Pyroteknix: Might as well make the decision now. Continue writing lemons, not continue writing lemons, continue writing lemons, and not continue..  
  
Aerodynamix: Hell with it! (Punches Pyroteknix on head.) Continue! I'm bored.  
  
Pyroteknix: I told you the mindless slaughter in Metal Gear Solid 2 would eventually get tiresome. Kingdom Hearts is far more refined.  
  
Aerodynamix: It's not mindless slaughter! It's strategical warfare with a few losses to virtual human life! Anyway, we should go already, Pimpoy wants to use the office.  
  
Pyroteknix: Okay. Kingdom Hearts rules. So long everybody.  
  
Aerodynamix: I never understood that phrase. "So long?" It sounds funny.  
  
I made that the longest dialogue between my two idiots because this was the last chapter. 


End file.
